Indian cricketer with no professional experience, straightaway bowled to Tendulkar; only player to take 2-ball hat-trick

There is no dearth of talent when it comes to Indian cricket. Over the years, we have encountered several heart-touching stories that will inspire you. Time and time again, we have seen many cricketers making their way through the U19 World Cup.

Virat Kohli , Ravindra Jadeja , Yashasvi Jaiswal , Yuvraj Singh, and Prithvi Shaw are some of the names who made everyone take notice of their talent at a young age and then went on to play for the national senior men's team. However, cricket has cutthroat competition in the country, and several players are vying to make a name for themselves. Under these circumstances, some don't receive their due in time.



One such player is Pravin Tamble. The leg-spinner had not played a single competitive first-class match before making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013 at 41. Pravin Tambe toiled for several years as a club cricketer in Mumbai while waiting for a full-blown opportunity.

Finally, Tambe's hard work paid off when he was picked by Rajasthan Royals in 2013. In his IPL career, the lef-spinner eventually played 33 matches, taking 28 wickets. At 41 years and 212 days, Pravin Tambe is still the oldest IPL debutant ever.

In 2013, Tambe was the leading wicket-taker in Champions League T20. He took 12 wickets in five games at an average of 6.50, better than the likes of Sunil Narine and Ravichandran Ashwin.

This performance eventually led to his Mumbai Ranji call-up in the following domestic season. Tambe eventually made his debut against Odisha in the 2013 Ranji Trophy. He was also named in the Mumbai squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout games but didn't play a single game.

The 53-year-old's most talked-about moment came in IPL 2014 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The leg-spinner took three wickets in consecutive balls; however, one of them came off a wide delivery, meaning that he registered a two-ball hat-trick. Pravin Tambe was also the irst Indian cricketer to get a contract in the Caribbean Premier League.

However, he had to retire from Indian cricket in order to take part in the 2020 CPL. Pravin Tambe bowled to Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 Sachin Tendulkar had a dream Test series against Australia in 1998. The Master Blaster dominated the late Shane Warne like never before.

In the three-Test series, Sachin scored 446 runs. Before the start of this series, Sachin Tendulkar did not leave any stone unturned to prepare to the best of his ability. Before Shane Warne's arrival on Indian shores, Sachin Tendulkar practiced at the Brabourne Stadium against different kinds of spinners.

Then, Pravin Tambe also went to the ground to bowl to Sachin Tendulkar. After bowling to Sachin Tendulkar in 1998, Pravin Tambe took two more years to have a brush with top-level cricket. In 2000, he was named in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy probables.

However, nothing substantial came of it. In the end, Tambe ended his career, having played just two first-class matches. Not many know that Pravin Tambe worked as a liaison officer when matches were played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

He was the liaison officer of the Deccan Chargers and the Pune Warriors India when DY Patil Stadium was their home ground. Tambe was also a regular member of the Liverpool League cricket team in the United Kingdom. He has almost 650 wickets and 7,500 runs for the Prescot & Odyssey Club, Rainford Cricket Club and St Helens Recreation.

A biopic has also been made on the life of Pravin Tambe. 'Kaun Pravin Tambe', starring Shreyas Talpade, was released on Disney+ Hotstar in April 2022..