Pravin Tambe's T10 participation could cause IPL trouble

Pravin Tambe

The Indian Premier League (IPL) may have a relook at Pravin Tambe's eligibility to play in the cash-rich T20 tournament after it came to light that the veteran Mumbai leg-spinner had participated in a T10 league held in Dubai and Sharjah last year.

On Thursday in Kolkata, Tambe, 48, became the oldest player to be picked at an IPL auction; bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.

IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel told Sunday mid-day that they are looking into the matter. "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]," Patel said from Bangalore.

When asked whether Tambe would be withdrawn from the IPL in such a scenario, Patel said: "Let us see, I don't know the exact situation.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]."

It could not be ascertained whether Tambe was registered with the BCCI last year. He did not respond to calls and messages for a comment. Tambe, who has represented Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, played for Sindhis in the T10 league.

In his first match of the tournament, Tambe bagged a hat-trick against Kerala Knights at Sharjah on November 22, 2018. His hat-trick victims were Eoin Morgan, Kieron Pollard and Fabian Allen. He also claimed the wicket of Chris Gayle in that over in which he conceded six runs. His dismissal of Upul Tharanga in his next over helped Tambe finish with figures of 2-0-15-5. The toiler played three more matches in the T10 tournament.

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