Former Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals spinner Pravin Tambe has taken yet another big step towards becoming the first Indian player to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The leg-spinner has announced his retirement to make himself eligible for the tournament. The BCCI does not allow its active players to take part in overseas T20 leagues.
But Pravin Tambe now has his path cleared to play in the CPL. On Monday, he was picked by Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL players’ draft for the sixth edition of the tournament. There were some confusion surrounding Pravin Tambe’s retirement previously. He was earlier suspended for taking part in T10 league after being picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for 20 lakh at the 2020 IPL auctions.
However, a senior Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official has confirmed that the spinner’s current status is “retired”.
“As per the MCA records, his current status is retired. He has recently retired. First he had retired and then he withdrew it and now again he has retired. He has written an e-mail to the MCA in this regard,” the MCA official told PTI on Tuesday.
Last year, the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Manpreet Gony had to retire from international and domestic cricket in order to play in the Global T20 Canada. Pravin Tambe, meanwhile, played 33 IPL games after making his debut in the league at the age of 41. He picked up 28 wickets with an average of 30.5. The leg-spinner also represented Mumbai in two first-class matches.
The CPL will be played between August 18 and September 10. But things could become trickier for Pravin Tambe with Indian government already banning international commercial flights till July 31 due to the pandemic. In case, the travel ban is extended, his dreams will be dashed. The tournament will be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.