da realsbet： Forty-two years old, and more than two decades into a journeyman career, Pravin Tambe is living the dream on the big stage
da fazobetai： Nagraj Gollapudi28-May-2014For the first five years of the IPL, Pravin Tambe was the liaison manager for teams at the DY Patil Sports Academy ground, where he has worked since 2004. His kids would push him to get them autographs of their favourite players, and his friends would pester him to get them a picture with Sachin Tendulkar.He kept a notebook handy for the autographs. “But I would feel uncomfortable, because if a player refused I would get hurt,” Tambe says. “I am a touchy guy and tear up if people hurt me.” As for Tendulkar, Tambe did manage to get his friends pictures, but he said he could not utter a word in the batsman’s presence.Five years on, Tambe is the one signing autographs. He finished on top of the wickets table in last year’s Champions League T20. And in the current IPL season he has been Rajasthan Royals’ leading wicket-taker, with 15 at a strike rate of 19.6. He and team-mate Shane Watson are the only bowlers to have taken hat-tricks this season.Tambe’s success has gained the attention it has largely because of his age. Most people can’t believe a 42-year-old can find a role in a tournament and format designed for twentysomethings. Tambe has earned his place by taking wickets, tightening the screws in the middle overs, and being one of Royals’ go-to bowlers.Like the story of offspinner Nathan Lyon, who went on to play for Australia after working as a groundsman at Adelaide Oval, Tambe’s is a tale not written overnight, filled with two decades of hard work and passion.
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It has been 15 years since Tambe married his wife, Vaishali. When they got engaged, he made it clear to her that cricket was his passion. She supported him, but last year, before he was picked for Royals, she questioned his commitment.”We were watching TV after I returned from training,” Tambe says. “She suddenly burst out, asking how many more years I was going to carry on playing, and why didn’t I do something big. She hadn’t said anything like that before.” After he came home from the 2013 IPL, she said: “So you do accomplish what you say you will.”Tambe started playing club cricket in the 1995-96 season with Parsee Cyclists in the D division in Mumbai’s domestic league. He then moved to Parsee Gymkhana in the B division and finally to the top league when he joined Shivaji Park Gymkhana, one of the city’s oldest and most illustrious clubs, one that has produced many Mumbai and India stalwarts.In the course of his time in the game Tambe has bowled against all kinds of batsmen – the illustrious, the industrious, and mavericks. He started out as a medium-pace bowler and lower-order batsman in tennis-ball cricket, where he originally made his name, including in the once-prestigious Matchless tournament.Once, when playing for Orient Shipping in the Thosar Shield, his captain, Ajay Kadam, sensing the pitch was slow, asked if Tambe would try bowling spin, since he used to put some revs on his slower delivery.
“I was the highest wicket-taker in CLT20 and many did ask me to raise my base price to Rs 30 lakhs ($51,000 approx). But more than money, I wanted to play. My fear was: what if no franchise bought me?”
“The advantage of playing in [Take them on].” That gives me a lot of confidence.”Could this be his last IPL? “I don’t think so, because I don’t feel tired. I just want to play on.”Tambe knows his story is now a motivation for others to not give up on their dreams. Youngsters at the club where he coaches used to sulk when they were not selected for Under-16 and U-19 tournaments. “Now whenever a guy gets dropped he tells me he will get picked next time.”Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler who now commentates in the IPL, points out that Tambe has been successful because he plays every day like it’s his last match. That could be true, because Tambe is past the point of looking at his performances as a ladder to take him to bigger, better things. For him the joy of playing cricket alongside great, good and normal cricketers is his biggest dream achieved.People often ask him about how he managed his transformation. “I only tell them that if you love the game then continue playing. Don’t bother about where you will end up.”