Advaith Dhumal Rao(left) and Rayyan Ketekar made their Minor League Cricket debuts for the East Bay Blazers, with Ketekar taking 1 for 5 against Silicon Valley Strikers.
Calif. β Sept. 26, 2026 β Two more graduates of the Blazers Cricket Academy Elite Pathway Program made their Minor League Cricket (MiLC) debuts for the East Bay Blazers on Sept. 25, as the team faced the Silicon Valley Strikers in a West Division match.
Rayyan Ketekar made an immediate impact with the ball, taking 1 for 5 from two overs. He bowled seven dot balls and finished with an economy rate of 2.50, the best among the Blazers bowlers in the match.
Advaith Dhumal Rao also made his MiLC debut in the same fixture, marking another step in his progression from the Academy pathway to senior-level cricket.
The debuts continue the progression of players from the Blazers Cricket Academy Elite Pathway Program into Minor League Cricket. The program provides young cricketers in the Bay Area with a structured route from academy training to competitive cricket at the domestic level in the United States.
βThis year marks a stepping stone for the Academy as we move in a direction where the focus is on youth β building our homegrown players and developing them for the bigger platform,β said Biju Nair, Founder and CEO of Blazers Cricket Academy.
βWeβre excited to be part of the journey at Blazers Cricket Academy and grateful for the opportunity to play at the Minor League level,β Ketekar and Dhumal Rao said in a joint statement.
The East Bay Blazers are scheduled to play their fourth game of the season on Saturday, September 26, against the San Ramon Grizzlies.
About Blazers Cricket Academy
Founded in 2023 in the Bay Area, Blazers Cricket Academy has trained more than 500 players. The Academy develops young cricketers through structured coaching and its Elite Pathway Program, which prepares players for competitive and Minor League cricket.
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