Food delivery boy from Chennai selected as net bowler for Netherlands ahead of ODI World Cup 2023

The excitement for the upcoming  World Cup 2023 has taken hold of the nation as it prepares to host nine international cricket teams in the grand event starting on October 5th in Ahmedabad. Teams have begun arriving in India and are gearing up with practice matches before the main tournament. One of these teams is the Netherlands, which has established its training base in Alur, Bengaluru.

Recently, Cricket Netherlands posted an advertisement on social media, inviting local net bowlers to assist them during their practice sessions. The response was overwhelming, leading to the selection of four Indian individuals who would join the team for net practice. Among these four net bowlers is Lokesh Kumar from Chennai, who specializes as a Chinaman bowler.

Interestingly, Lokesh earns his livelihood by working as a food delivery driver for Swiggy. He expresses his joy and gratitude for being recognized by the Netherlands cricket team and is thrilled to be welcomed into their training setup. The Netherlands teams also posted a heartwarming video of a small induction of the players on their official Twitter handle. Have a look at the video uploaded by Cricket Netherlands;

Our first training session in India for the #CWC23 began with a small induction ceremony for our four new net bowlers from different parts of India. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ug0gHb73tn

— Cricket🏏Netherlands (@KNCBcricket) September 20, 2023

Three more players have been selected by the Netherlands Cricket team

The Netherlands team have also selected three more promising talents, Hemant Kumar, Rajamani Prasad, and Harsh Sharma for their preparation camp for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Hemant Kumar who hails from Churu, Rajasthan. He is a left-arm pacer who also holds the position of Assistant Administrative Officer at the Rajasthan High Court. In 2022 and 2023, he served as a net bowler for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals.

Rajamani Prasad who is originally from Telangana, has a cricket background and was previously associated with the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Currently, he serves as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings, a five-time champion team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Harsh Sharma who is a left-arm orthodox spinner from Haryana, played a vital role in winning the North Zone Inter University Championship and securing second place at the All India Inter University Championship. He also had the opportunity to participate in the RCB camp in Mumbai in 2022. These three talented individuals are set to contribute to the Netherlands' World Cup preparations.