Kaun Pravin Tambe: All you need to know about the cricketer who made IPL debut at 41

Mumbai, April 2: A biopic on former IPL and domestic cricketer Pravin Tambe titled 'Kaun Pravin Tambe?' released on OTT platform Disney + Hotstar and the film helmed by Jayprad Desai is garnering positive reviews from the critics.

The film starring Bollywood actor Shreyas Talpade in the lead role traces the journey of Pravin Tambe - a well-known name in Mumbai club cricket - becoming the oldest cricketer to make a debut in the history of the IPL. Tambe - who was spotted by Rajasthan Royals talent scouts - played for the inaugural season's champions during IPL 2013 when he was 41. It was also the first instance when the leg-spinner from Mumbai played professional top-flight cricket.

Early career:

Pravin Tambe started as a medium-pacer which also helped him land a job at Orient Shipping. However, he was later encouraged to bowl leg-spin as he possessed the natural drift. In the 1995-96 season, he began his club cricket journey with the Parsee Cyclists team in Mumbai domestic cricket division D. He progressed to division B of Mumbai's domestic league and ended up playing for the top league when he joined Shivaji Park Gymkhana. He came close to getting his recognition in top-flight cricket when he was named in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy probables between 2000 and 2002 but never got a chance in the team.

IPL journey

Pravin Tambe - who worked as a liaison officer at DY Patil Stadium - shot to fame when he made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013 against Delhi Daredevils. The right-arm spinner managed to pick up just a wicket in his debut IPL game and played three games during that season. However, his best came in the next season when he played 13 games for the Shane Watson-led side in 2014 and even picked up a hattrick against Kolkata Knight Riders. He dismissed Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate and bagged the player of the match. He finished the season with 15 wickets and bowled at an economy of 7.26.

In IPL 2015, Tambe picked up seven wickets in 10 games before getting bought by Gujarat Lions in 2016. He played under Suresh Raina's leadership in IPL 2016 and Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him up at IPL 2017 auction but Tambe couldn't play any game.

The Mumbaikar announced his retirement in 2018 and went on participating in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He came back from retirement in 2019 and was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at a base price of Rs 20 lakh but couldn't play any game for the two-time champions after getting disqualified by the BCCI for playing T10 League. He was, however, roped in as KKR as support staff and is still working with the side.

Caribbean Premier League

Tambe created history when he became the first Indian to be drafted into the Caribbean Premier League and played for KKR's sister franchise Trinbago Knight Riders in 2020. TKR ended up winning the CPL 2020 title.

Champions League T20

In the 2013 CL T20, now defunct, Tambe was awarded the Golden Wicket trophy for picking up the most wickets in the tournament. He took 12 wickets in five matches with an impressive average of 6.50.

Ranji dream fulfilled

Playing Ranji trophy is a dream for every aspiring cricketer in Mumbai and those donning the jersey of one of the most successful domestic sides in the world take a lot of pride in that. Tambe realised his childhood dream in the 2013/14 Ranji season when he played for the Mumbai Ranji team at the age of 42. He made his Ranji debut after making his IPL debut. He played two Ranji games. He made his List A debut at the age of 46 when he represented Mumbai against Gujarat in 2017.