The curious case of Pravin Tambe

At the age of 42, Pravin Tambe has come a long way from being an IPL liaison officer, to one of the top performers in the recently concluded Champions League, where he picked up 12 wickets from five matches. In an interview with Lhendup G Bhutia for Open, Tambe talks about his late-blooming career and exposure to fame.

During earlier editions of the IPL, he acted as a liaison officer whenever matches were played at the DY Patil Stadium. "This means, if the players need ice for an ice bath, I get the ice," he says, "If someone wants their gear looked after, I do it." For the first IPL match at DY Patil Stadium, he remembers walking around the Mumbai Indians' dressing room, asking cricketers if they needed anything and working up the courage to request photographs with them. Tambe's is a remarkable story of a bounce back to top form. Before the CLT20 tournament, he was "a nobody", he says. But just a few matches later, spectators were sitting up each time his captain handed him the ball for an over. Both off and on the field, he was suddenly seen as a threat to batsmen.