CPL 2020: Pravin Tambe set to become the first Indian to play the tournament

Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe is set to become the first Indian player to play in the Caribbean Premier League as the six franchises announced their teams on Monday. Tambe has been picked for USD 7,500 (INR 5.6 Lakh) by Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) which is co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan. The CPL is scheduled between August 18 to September 10. Other overseas players like Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor would also feature in the 2020 edition of the Caribbean league. 

The former Mumbai spinner is the oldest player to play in the Indian Premier League. He debuted in the IPL at the age of 41. In his short domestic career, Tambe has played 33 IPL matches picking up 28 wickets with an average of 30.5. Also, Pravin was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for IPL 2020 in the auction at a price of 20 lacs. Notably, both TKR and KKR are co-owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh khan. 

The selection of the players and filling of forms for CPL 2020 was carried out remotely in the view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A CPL statement read, “The draft was carried out remotely and the six teams have successfully filled out their rosters with both the Caribbean and overseas players with Rashid Khan, Marcus Stoinis, Ross Taylor, Tambe, and Carlos Brathwaite all being signed up.” 

Pravin Tambe is not eligible to play IPL 2020 

The 48-year-old would have to obtain a No Objection Certificate from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to participate in the overseas domestic league as BCCI doesn’t allow its players to participate in foreign tournaments. 

Tambe is already under BCCI’s scanner for participating in the T10 league in UAE in 2018. The cricketer had officially taken retirement from all formats of the game for participating in the UAE tournament. However, last year he withdrew his retirement and participated in the Mumbai T20 league. Also, he registered himself for the 2020 IPL auction in which he was picked by KKR. This controversy resulted in Tambe getting disqualified for playing in the cash-rich league this year. 

Nonetheless, the bowler is this time ready to follow all the norms and protocols for participating in CPL. Also, he is quite excited and keen to play the overseas league. “I have been training indoors. For any player, this is a big opportunity and I hope to play to my strength,” Tambe said as quoted by Sportstar.