Forty-eight-year-old spinner Pravin Tambe on Monday was drafted to play in the Caribbean Premier League by Trinbago Knight Riders and is set to be the first Indian* to play in the T20 league.
Tambe became the oldest player to bag an Indian Premier League contract when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in the auction last year, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India disqualified him for participating in the T10 League in 2018.
Trinbago Knight Riders have now signed Tambe, and the spinner will become the first Indian to play at the CPL should he feature for the Kieron Pollard-led side.
As per Board of Control for Cricket in India’s rules, he now eligible having announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. A senior Mumbai Cricket Association official said Tambe’s current status is retired as per their records.
“As per the MCA records, his current status is retired. He has recently retired. First he had retired and then he withdrew it and now again he has retired. He has written an e-mail to the MCA in this regard,” the official told PTI.
TKR are owned by a group that includes Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan; the group that also owns IPL’s KKR franchise, incidentally. The Trinidad and Tobago franchise have won the CPL three times.
Tambe, who has played just two first-class matches, shot to fame during IPL 2013 while playing for Rajasthan Royals as a 41-year-old. He spent three seasons with the 2008 champions before having spells at now defunct Gujarat Lions, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Tambe had already announced that he would be a part of the CPL, something that TKR officials said they were unaware of last week.
“I am fit and since the BCCI does not allow me to take part in its competitions, why shouldn’t I play in other leagues? I am eligible to play outside and got picked by TKR. I will also take all necessary precautions and follow protocols before going there,” the leg-spinner told the Indian Express.
The CPL is scheduled to be held between August 18 and September 10 behind closed doors in Trinidad and Tobago after receiving permission from the local government.
Tambe was one of the two Indians in the CPL draft; 36-year-old Railways and Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Asad Pathan had entered without a base price.
CPL TEAMS
| JAMAICA TALLAWAHS | ST LUCIA ZOUKS | TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS |
|---|---|---|
| ANDRE RUSSELL (R) | RILEE ROSSOUW (S) | DWAYNE BRAVO (R) |
| S LAMICHHANE (D) | MOHAMMAD NABI (D) | KIERON POLLARD (R) |
| CARLOS BRATHWAITE (D) | DAREN SAMMY (R) | SUNIL NARINE (R) |
| ROVMAN POWELL (R | COLIN INGRAM (R) | COLIN MUNRO (R) |
| TABRAIZ SHAMSI (S) | ANDRE FLETCHER (R) | FAWAD AHMED (S) |
| GLENN PHILLIPS (R) | KESRICK WILLIAMS (R) | DARREN BRAVO (R) |
| CHADWICK WALTON (R) | ANRICH NORTJE (S) | LENDL SIMMONS (R) |
| OSHANE THOMAS (R) | CHEMAR HOLDER (D) | KHARY PIERRE (R) |
| ASIF ALI (D) | OBED McCOY (R) | TIM SEIFERT (S) |
| FIDEL EDWARDS (D) | RAHKEEM CORNWALL (R) | SIKANDAR RAZA (D) |
| PRESTON MCSWEEN (D) | MARK DEYAL (D) | ANDERSON PHILLIP (D) |
| ANDRE MCCARTHY (D) | NOOR AHMAD (S) | PRAVIN TAMBE (D) |
| NICHOLAS KIRTON (D) | KIMANI MELIUS (S) | JAYDEN SEALES (S) |
| JEAVOR ROYAL (D) | LENIKO BOUCHER (D) | AMIR JANGOO (R) |
| NKRUMAH BONNER (D) | KAVEM HODGE (R) | TION WEBSTER (R) |
| V PERMAUL (D) | JAVELLE GLEN (D) | AKEAL HOSEIN (R) |
| RYAN PERSAUD (D) | SAAD BIN ZAFAR (D) | MUHAMMAD ALI KHAN (R) |
CPL TEAMs
| ST KITTS & NEVIS PATRIOTS | BARBADOS TRIDENTS | GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS |
|---|---|---|
| CHRIS LYNN (S) | RASHID KHAN (S) | IMRAN TAHIR (R) |
| BEN DUNK (D) | JASON HOLDER (R) | NICHOLAS POORAN (R) |
| EVIN LEWIS (R) | MARCUS STONIS (S) | BRANDON KING (R) |
| FABIAN ALLEN (R) | HARRY GURNEY (R) | ROSS TAYLOR (S) |
| R van der DUSSEN (S) | ALEX HALES (D) | SHIMRON HETMYER (R) |
| SOHAIL TANVIR (S) | JOHNSON CHARLES (R) | CHRIS GREEN (R) |
| ISH SODHI (S) | SHAI HOPE (R) | QAIS AHMAD (S) |
| SHELDON COTTERELL (R) | HAYDEN WALSH, JR (R) | KEEMO PAUL (R) |
| DENESH RAMDIN (TFR) | ASHLEY NURSE (R) | S RUTHERFORD (R) |
| RAYAD EMRIT (R) | JONATHAN CARTER (R) | ROMARIO SHEPHERD (R) |
| DENNIS BULLI (D) | RAYMON REIFER (R) | NAVEEN UL HAQ (D) |
| ALZARRI JOSEPH (R) | KYLE MAYERS (D) | CHANDRAPUL HEMRAJ (R) |
| JOSHUA DE SILVA (D) | JOSHUA BISHOP (D) | KEVIN SINCLAIR (S) |
| DOMINIC DRAKES (R) | NYEEM YOUNG (S) | ASHMEADE NEDD (D) |
| COLIN ARCHIBALD (D) | JUSTIN GREAVES (R) | ODEAN SMITH (R) |
| JON RUSS JAGGESAR (D) | R GURBAZ (D) | ANTHONY BRAMBLE (R) |
| SUNNY SOHAL (D) | SHAYAN JAHANGIR (D) | JASDEEP SINGH (D) |
The draft was carried out remotely and the six teams have successfully filled out their rosters with both Caribbean and overseas players with Rashid Khan, Marcus Stoinis, Ross Taylor, Tambe and Carlos Brathwaite all being signed up.
Defending champions, the Barbados Tridents, have signed superstar Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid, powerful English opener Alex Hales and Australian all-rounder Stoinis. Their other overseas players are Englishman Harry Gurney and Afghani Rahmanullah Gurbaz. They have retained the core of their championship winning side from last year.
TKR have also brought back Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed who was part of their Championship winning team in 2018. They have signed New Zealand wicket keeper Tim Seifert and Zimbabwean batsman Sikandar Raza. The Knight Riders have retained the core of their local players for the 2020 season.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have retained 13 players from the team that went unbeaten during the league stage of last year’s tournament and have added New Zealander Ross Taylor and Afghani Naveen-ul-Haq. Imran Tahir, Chris Green, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford all return to the Amazon Warriors for 2020.
The St Kitts & Nevis Patriots have signed Australians Chris Lynn and Ben Dunk and have also recruited Ish Sodhi and Sohail Tanvir. Rassie van der Dussen returns to the Patriots after a successful spell with the team in 2018 and they welcome back Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell and their captain Rayad Emrit.
The Jamaica Tallawahs are looking to rebuild after a poor season in 2019 which saw them finish in last place in the table. They have recruited Brathwaite who was released by the Patriots. They have also signed Nepalese leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and South African left arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. They have brought in exciting Pakistani batsman Asif Ali and retained their leading run scorer from last season, Glenn Phillips. These overseas players will combine with a local contingent which includes Andre Russell, Rovman Powell and Oshane Thomas.
Clarification: Sunny Sohal is a former Indian first-class cricketer, currently representing the USA, who has been part of Barbados Tridents in the past. Despite being an Indian, he is considered a USA-registered player. (He is an ICC Americas player). Pravin Tambe will be the first player registered as an Indian to feature in the CPL if he plays in the upcoming season.
