A Spartan Stands at the Top of the Cricket World

When Sanjay Krishnamurthi, '25 Computer Science, hit a six off Saurabh Netravalkar, arguably the best cricket player in the United States, the cricket world sat up and took notice. Articles appeared with glowing titles likeThe SJSU computer science major who just became a sports sensation overnightandSanjay Krishnamurthi: A Rising Star in American Cricket.

At San José State, where Krishnamurthi is pursuing a degree in computer science, Michael Kaufman, dean of the college of science, posted the article on LinkedIn. But not everyone on campus knows about his other life.

"I try not to talk myself up, obviously," Krishnamurthi says. "But yeah, some people do bring it up. My roommate knows nothing about cricket, but on his Google feed, one of the articles was like 'SJSU student conquers America's Golden Boy' or something like that. And he sent a screenshot of that to me. That was pretty cool."

Krishnamurthi has been a gifted cricket player for a long time, but this summer, when he played Major League Cricket in the US as aSan Francisco Unicorn, one incredible game really put him over the top. On July 22, among other impressive feats,he hit a six (the equivalent of a home run in baseball) against Netravalkar, who was responsible for theUS' shocking win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cupand helped his team clinch a win. In other words, this 21-year-old computer science student took on one of the best cricket players in the world and claimed victory.

What a game

Even a month after the game, Krishnamurthi remembers all the details.

"We were chasing [the other team's] target," he says. "They batted first and they hit a score that wins [the match] I'd say 98 games out of 100. Then, after a rain delay, we had to just come out all guns blazing because we had no other option."

"I think our first batter got out on the very first ball, but that was it. And then I walked in next and I just started connecting. Everything I tried to do came off and, in the end, we ended up winning it."

"I surprised myself in that game," he adds, "because the players I was up against are players who play in all the leagues around the world, players I've been watching on TV for a while. I knew that I could do it at a lower level, but I hadn't yet proven myself at that higher level. It was incredible. I was flooded with so many messages in the days after that. It was special."

A wunderkind

Some Americans (including this writer) are unfamiliar with cricket, which is wildly popular in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and many other countries across the globe.

Recently, however, the United States has become more broadly interested in the sport, with an influx of money and interest, including a new Major League and a US national team that competes on the World Cup level. Krishnamurthi played for the Major League as part of the Unicorns, but also played for the US national team in 2021, when he was just 18.

"That was an incredible feeling because I wanted to get into that team, but I didn't get selected at first," he remembers. "So I was just carrying on with my training and schoolwork. And then one morning I got a text message from the head of USA Cricket saying 'We've had an injury here. We need a replacement player. Are you able to get in to get on a flight in the next few hours?'"

"It was a rush. At that time I had to get a COVID test done as well. But by 1 p.m. that day, I was on a flight to Oman," he says. And as a true, responsible SJSU student, he admits another detail: "I didn't even have time to message or email all my professors," he adds, slightly apologetically. "I had to do that once I got there."

COVID trials

Krishnamurthi was born in Oregon to an Indian father and a Caucasian mother. He grew up absorbing his father's love of cricket, and soon developed an interest of his own. When the family moved to Arizona, opportunities to play were few and far between. But when they relocated to India when he was eight, opportunities exploded. He quickly joined a cricket academy and ended up playing for his state in India in the National under-16 tournament.

His family was still living in India in March 2020, when he was recruited to a cricket training camp in Houston. The US national team was looking for players with American passports who could start playing immediately if needed. The trip was meant to be brief, just for the camp, but you can probably guess what happened next: COVID-19 stranded him. Luckily, his family had come along for the trip. Unluckily, none of them could return to India.

But as it turned out, India's cricket loss was the US' cricket gain. Krishnamurthi, who was attending online high school at the time, was forced to stay. His father got a job in the Bay Area and the family relocated once again. They had a support system and he had another chance to play cricket in one of the "hot spots" for cricket in the United States while attending high school.

To San José

Krishnamurthi always played cricket, but he developed his interest in other areas as well, including coding. In India, he participated in the World Robot Olympiad at the national level, coming just short of making internationals. So when it was time for him to choose a college, he knew his major would be computer science.

"I wanted something within Northern California because that's where cricket is," he explains. "And at the same time, our family had already relocated so many times. I didn't want to relocate again. San José State was my number one choice both because of the excellent computer science program and then also because of its location in the heart of the Bay Area. It was an easy choice."

Now what?

Krishnamurthi started at SJSU in 2021 and played Major League Cricket this summer for the first time. He's the youngest player on the Unicorns, which is composed of both international players, who are largely all professional, year-round cricketers, and "domestics," who often earn their living coaching or playing. As far as he knows, he's also the only student on the team.

It keeps him busy - he schedules his courses towards evening if he can, so he can train and practice in the mornings. He still doesn't know whether he wants to pursue computer science or cricket professionally - or possibly both. Although as he points out, "The opportunity to be a professional sports player doesn't come around to everyone. So I'd like to grab that opportunity if it presents itself."

For now, though, he's happy to train and keep his eyes on the prize. "I'm optimistic about my chances of getting back into the US team pretty soon," he says. He hopes to play Major League again next season and, in the meantime, he captains the Bay Blazers, a Bay Area-based minor league cricket team.

And after that? The US national team will play in the 2026 Cricket World Cup, an event Krishnamurthi is hoping to be a part of. But his ultimate goal is even bigger: "I'd say the biggest dream right now is to be an Olympian in 2028," he says.

Los Angeles, here he comes.

Click here to learn more about Krishnamurthi's team, the San Francisco Unicorns.

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