Pravin Tambe stirred social media when he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at his base price of INR 20 lakhs and became the oldest player ever to find a bid at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. However, the 48-year-old will not take part in the upcoming edition of the lucrative league as he has been disqualified.
The reason for Tambe’s disqualification was his involvement in T10 League – a ten-over format tournament in the United Arab Emirates launched and owned by T Ten Sports Management.
As per the rules of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), a player can only participate in the overseas league after his retirement, and Tambe did retire in 2018 by informing his state board Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Therefore, he was legally ready to participate in the T10 League. However, after the conclusion of the 10-overs competition, Tambe came back and withdrew his decision.
The IPL chairman Brijesh Patel informed the franchise KKR about the decision regarding Tambe.
“He (Tambe) won’t be allowed to play IPL. He won’t be allowed; otherwise, we have to allow everyone,” said Patel as quoted by The Indian Express.
The cash-rich league chief explained the rules concerning such happenings.
“The board only allows players to play in one day, three days, four days, and county cricket, and each player has to seek BCCI and respective state association’s no-objection certificate. The case with T10 and T20 is different,” added Patel.
Tambe played for the Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Lions, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. The leggie picked up 28 wickets overall in 33 games.
