In the sixth season of the famous Indian Premiere League (IPL), a 41-year-old player at that time- Pravin Tambe- rose to fame. The team Rajasthan Royals chose him in the players’ auction as a bowler. This helped him finally give wings to his dream and increase his net worth after years of struggle and hard work.
Let us read about the life, achievements, and net worth of Pravin Tambe- a professional cricketer whose talent was identified through IPL.
Early Life of Pravin Tambe
Pravin Vijay Tambe was born on October 8, 1971, in Bombay (as Mumbai was called at that time). His father also hailed from a cricketing background and played suburban cricket at a young age. Pravin Tambe is married to Vaishali Tambe and is a father of two- a girl and a boy.
Tambe started playing gully cricket when he was 15. In his younger years, he wanted to become a fast bowler, but his captain Ajay Kadam asked him to train and play as a leg spinner.
With age, he started doing a job, as cricket was his passion with which he couldn’t earn a livelihood. He played as a club-level cricketer in Mumbai with the team Parsso Cyclist in Mumbai’s domestic league of 1995-96.
After that, he switched to playing with Shivaji Park Gymkhana. He was even named to be a part of the Mumbai Ranji Probables squad for 2000 and 2002 but could never make it to the final list.
The Kick-Start of his Career
Pravin Tambe had been helping the team Rajasthan Royals in the previous IPL seasons, especially in the matches played in T10 league. in Navi Mumbai. This is because he had an enormous knowledge of the pitch and the ground. After all, he was accustomed to playing there. However, he had never played first-class cricket.
After working as a liaison officer for five years, his abilities were recognized by the scouts in an invitational T20 tournament.
Tambe was the coach of the team of Orient Shipping- the company where he used to work. The match was held in the DY Patil Sports Academy in January 2013. However, he had to step into the game when Rahul Sharma, a bowler on the team, was injured.
His performance in the invitational tournament was phenomenal, and he ended up taking 12 wickets for his team. This helped him acquire the attention of the team of Rajasthan Royals, who signed a contract with him.
His professional cricket debutant match was against Delhi Daredevils in the IPL tournament of 2013.
Major Achievements of Pravin Tambe
The game of Pravin Tambe peaked in eight years, beginning from the time he shifted bowling leg spin from medium pace. Some of the highlights of Pravin Tambe’s career include the following.
- He took a 2-ball hat-trick (with a wide ball) in his match against Kolkata Night Riders.
- He also played in the Champions League T20 in 2013, where he received the Golden Wicket Award for taking the most wickets.
- His dream to play for the Ranji trophy was realized in 2013 when he was made to represent the Mumbai team in two first-class matches.
- Tambe received multiple Man of the Match awards in the IPL 2014 season.
- He received a Purple Cap– a recognition given to the person who takes the most wickets in a season.
- In the match against Chennai Super Kings, he took the wicket of the Indian cricket legend- M.S. Dhoni, who was playing as the captain.
- In the IPL season of 2016, he was selected to play for the team of Gujarat Lions.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad signed him as a bowler in the IPL season of 2017.
Further Developments
Pravin Tambe resigned from the BCCI in 2018 to play for Abu Dhabi in the T10 league. In the T10 league, he took five wickets in a match against Kerala Knights and dismissed some prominent cricketers, including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Eoin Morgan.
In 2019, he withdrew his retirement to come back to play for the team of Kolkata Night Riders in the IPL. However, he was disqualified due to playing in the premier league of Abu Dhabi.
At the age of 48 in 2020, Tambe retired again. He began playing in the Caribbean Premier League with Trinbago Knight Riders. Currently, he is working as a KKR support staff.
Pravin Tambe’s Net Worth
The net worth of Pravin Tambe is INR 6 Crores. While playing for multiple teams between 2013 and 2017, he earned around Rs. 80 lakhs. However, his income from the overseas matches is still unknown.
His monthly income is estimated to be 2.5- 3 lakhs. Currently, he runs a cricket academy too. He endorsed SG cricket in his playing years. He has a fully-furnished flat in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Career Summary
The Batting and Bowling Career Summary of Pravin Tambe can be seen in the tables below.
Bowling Career Summary (IPL)
| Matches | 33 |
| Innings | 33 |
| Balls | 660 |
| Runs | 853 |
| Wickets | 28 |
| Best Bowling in an Innings | 4/20 |
| Best Bowling in a Match | 4/20 |
| Economy | 7.75 |
| Average | 30.46 |
| Strike Rate | 23.57 |
Batting Career Summary (IPL)
| Matches | 33 |
| Innings | 6 |
| Not-Outs | 4 |
| Runs | 18 |
| Average | 9.0 |
| Highest Score | 7 |
| Balls Faced | 39 |
| Strike Rate | 46.15 |
The first match played by Pravin Tambe was against Delhi Capitals on May 07, 2013, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
The last IPL match played by Pravin Tambe was against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 14, 2016, in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
On April 1, 2022, a biopic of Pravin Tambe was released on Hotstar, named “Kaun Pravin Tambe.” In this, Shreyas Talpade played the role of Pravin Tambe. It depicted beautifully the struggles he has faced in his life and portrayed his fairytale-like life story!
