Who is Pravin Tambe? All about Indian cricketer who made his IPL debut at 41

Indian cricket fans might be well acquainted with the name Pravin Tambe, a leg-spinner who made his Indian Premier League debut at the age of 41- years, but not many are aware of his journey to fame. A Mumbai-born, 5-foot 5-inch cricketer, Tambe made headlines during the 2013 edition of IPL after he became the oldest debutant in the history of the tournament. Apart from the fact that he was debuting in IPL for Rajasthan Royals, it was also the first time in his career that he was playing professional top-flight cricket.

Who is Pravin Tambe?

Growing up playing cricket, Pravin Tambe used to be a fast bowler before he was asked by his Orient Shipping skipper Ajay Kagam to try bowling leg-spin. He was on point with his wrist spin bowling and was also noticed by former India cricketer Sandeep Patil. He started his cricketing career in the 1995-96 season while playing club cricket for the Parsee Cyclists team in division D of Mumbai’s domestic cricket, before switching to Parsee Gymkhana in division B of Mumbai’s domestic league. He managed to play in the top league by joining the Shivaji Park Gymkhana and was named in the Ranji probables for Mumbai between 2000 to 2002, however, failed to secure a spot in the team.

A look at Pravin Tambe's IPL career-

While he worked as a liaison officer in the early years of IPL for matches conducted at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Tambe garnered attention after his performance in an invitational tournament in January 2013. His talent was noticed and he quickly landed a contract from the Rajasthan Royals franchise for IPL 2013. He went on to make his IPL debut at the age of 41-years-old by playing against Delhi Daredevils. He managed to return with only one wicket in three matches in 2013, however, his best performance was yet to be witnessed by the fans.

Tambe played a total of 13 matches for RR in IPL 2014 and returned with a total of 15 wickets with an economy rate of 7.26. He also took a hattrick in the 2014 season by dismissing KKR batters Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, and Ryan ten Doeschate and was awarded the player of the match award for his performance. He also held the purple cap for a brief period of time during that season.

Tambe picked up seven wickets in 10 matches in IPL 2015, before getting roped in by Gujarat Lions for the 2016 season. Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for an amount of 10lakh during IPL 2017, however, he didn’t play any matches. He announced his retirement in 2018 in order to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, however, later came back from retirement after getting roped in by KKR for an amount of 20 lakhs in the 2019 IPL auction. He was later disqualified by the IPL governing body for playing in the T10 league, without proper permission from BCCI. Meanwhile, Tambe is currently a support staff for KKR in the IPL. He is currently in the news after a sports biopic named 'Kaun Pravin Tambe?' starring Shreyas Talpade and directed by Jayprad Desai was released in Disney+Hotstar on April 1, 2022.

(Image: IPL/BCCI)