Pravin Tambe the Mumbai leg-spinner on Thursday, after being signed up Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League auctions, said that he isn’t a day older than 20.
On a day when many youngsters went unsold at the IPL auctions in Kolkata, the former Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner, 48, was snapped up by the two-time champions at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
“I am still a 20-year-old in my mind,” Tambe, who has an 18-year-old son, was quoted as saying by PTI. “I will bring all my experience and energy to the team. I know that I can bring that even if I’m with them not playing.”
He doesn’t feel that age will be an impediment. “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,” he added.
Tambe, while not playing in the IPL, works at a sports teacher in DY Patil University. “My family has supported me all these years. They keep inspiring me. 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,” Tambe said.
It was Tambe who clinched a hat-trick (3/26) against Kolkata Knight Riders to spin Rajasthan to victory by 10 runs in IPL 2014 in Ahmedabad. “I distinctly remember the moment. I’m really proud to be playing for the same team now. It was a match-winning show and my dream now would be to give a similar match-winning performance for KKR,” he said.
Tambe will look to fill in the void left by Piyush Chawla who was released by KKR and was bought by Chennai Super Kings at the auction. “I knew I would fit in as a back-up player. They did not have many spinners left in the slot. I’m just focusing about performing well. I don’t want to bother what people are talking about,” said Tambe.
He added: “I never played cricket to achieve anything. I love this game and that’s what has kept me going always.”
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