Kolkata Knight Riders' Pravin Tambe under the radar after participation in T10 League last year

Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders created quite a stir when they bid for a 48-year-old Pravin Tambe and roped him in at his base price of INR 20 Lakh. This made Tambe the oldest cricketer to win a contract in IPL history.

Tambe, who earlier represented Rajasthan Royals in the 2010s, participated in the T10 League last year held in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. According to the BCCI rules, any contracted Indian player cannot participate in any T10 or T20 leagues around the world.

Speaking to Mid-day, IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel said

”The rule is clear that they [the players] cannot participate in any T20 or T10 tournaments if he is a [BCCI] registered player."

“They can only play in one-day, three-day or four-day cricket like county cricket or maybe in Bangladesh, but that permission has to be taken from the state association and the BCCI. We are looking into this [Tambe matter].”

“Let us see, I don’t know the exact situation. We are trying to get some more information. I want to get proper facts and then only [we can decide]."

Pravin Tambe

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Pravin Tambe has played 38 IPL games in total, claiming 28 wickets at an economy of 7.75 and an average of 30.46. In the T10 League, Tambe bagged a hat-trick when he dismissed Eoin Morgan, Kieron Pollard, and Fabian Allen in three successive deliveries and also took his fourth of the over by claiming the prized scalp of Chris Gayle. He completed his five-for after taking the wicket of Upul Tharanga later in the game. After being picked up KKR in the December 19 auction, Tambe spoke to Hindustan Times and expressed his joy:

"I am still a 20-year-old in my mind. People say many things but I keep doing my job and put in a lot of hard work. I will like to do well in whatever role given to me, be it in fielding or bowling. It’s not to prove anything. If that was the case, I could not have played for this long. I’m really excited to play for them... KKR must have seen something in me to have bought me. I’m grateful to KKR team management. I want to give them back. If you get the support, you can go a long way."