Veteran spinner Pravin Tambe made quite a splash at the Indian Premier League auction in December, when Brendon McCullum and Co brought him on board for Kolkata Knight Riders. The 48-year-old was bought at his base price for Rs 20 lakh and there were cheers and applause in the hall as he marked his return to the franchise-based tournament.
But it seems the joy is going to be short-lived for the former Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner.
In his break from the IPL, without having announced his retirement, Tambe had played in the 2019 Abu Dhabi T10 League for Sindhis. And that has resulted in him flouting the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s rules as the new IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed to website Cricbuzz about Tambe’s ineligibility.
On a day when many youngsters went unsold at the IPL auctions in Kolkata, Tambe was snapped up by the two-time champions at his base price of Rs 20 lakh. He had said in the aftermath of the auction that he still felt like a 20-year-old and promised to repay the faith of the Kolkata franchise, to be coached by former New Zealand captain McCullum this season.
Having last played in the IPL in 2016 for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions. The late bloomer who made his mark with Royals in the tournament, has played two first-class games for Mumbai. In 2019, he turned up in four matches for Sindhis in the T10 league that also featured the now-retired Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.