Saurabh Netravalkar, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar and Monank Patel play for the US but are all from India and have learnt their cricket here. Netravalkar, their captain, Harmeet and Ranjane have lived and played in Mumbai and for them, the Wankhede Stadium will also feel more like home.

There’s no doubting their commitment to the US team, but instincts can often take over when playing against your country of birth. It happened to some of them the last time in New York, when they came up against India for their 2024 T20 World Cup group game. Harmeet has vivid memories of the day.

“There were a lot of players (in the India side) that I had played with. We had reached for that game early. We met nicely, and when time came for the national anthems, we were like, which one to sing? We decided we will sing both,” recalled Harmeet during an interaction a few days before the tournament.

“Once the game started, slowly we got into our rhythm. During our bowling, the atmosphere was great. We almost made a game out of it, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience,” added Harmeet, who, along with Netravalkar, is a former India Under-19 player.

Mumbai products Harmeet, Netravalkar and Ranjane have enough experience of playing at the Wankhede Stadium.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav, on the eve of the game, recollected playing with them. “Even though they are playing from other countries, it’s a good opportunity for them. I have played a lot of cricket with them.”

“I have played with a lot of them, actually,” Harmeet said. “All the players from Mumbai – Rohit (Sharma), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube; then Sanju (Samson), Kuldeep (Yadav), Axar (Patel) and I were in the India U-19 team together.”

Harmeet believes all three of them could well have been on the other side of the line-up, wearing the India colours. In terms of talent, he believes they were as good as anybody. The journey has been defined by who got the chances at the right time and who missed out. Harmeet is an India Under-19 World Cup winner in 2012. Along with Netravalkar, he also played the 2010 U-19 edition where the left-arm pacer was the top wicket-taker for India.

“Netravalkar and I have been playing together since our school cricket days. With Ranjane, since the U-13 days. He first played for Maharashtra and then came to Mumbai (playing club cricket) for DY Patil together, and Ranji Trophy. In batting also, we go next to each other, and know each other’s game,” Harmeet said.

Harmeet and Netravalkar played in the last T20 World Cup co-hosted by the US. This is Ranjane’s first World Cup. The three have shaped up nicely for the tournament with good showing in the two warm-ups games.

Talking about the improvement in Ranjane’s game seen in some of his innings in the South African T20 league, Harmeet said: “It is not about improving, it is about getting opportunity. If you don’t get opportunities you can’t go to the next level.

“It’s a bit about destiny. Suryakumar and Shreyas Iyer got good runs, they became international players. It’s not that Shubham and I were not good enough. Everyone is working equally hard. There’s so much talent in Mumbai. Apart from the 15 who are playing, there are 50 more players who are equal or as good, but you have to get the opportunity,” said Harmeet, who now resides in the same neighbourhood as Ranjane in Houston.

“When the India players, especially from Mumbai, come to play in the USA, they make so many runs. Compared to a player from other countries who have played 100 or 50 first-class games, the Mumbai batters come and simply dominate. That’s what Ranjane has done. He got the opportunity here, he chased it. Because we were deprived of so many opportunities, when we get it, we jump on it.”

In the 2024 edition, USA made headlines for making the Super Eights through some stellar performances in the group stage, which included a Super Over win against former champions Pakistan. USA have impressed in the two warm-up games. They will fancy their chances for an upset win again. Big guns in their group, including India and Pakistan, will certainly not take them lightly.