Pravin Tambe - The fading star who stuck by his dreams

The most striking feature about him is his willingness to learn and keep performing for the team at such an age. His success goes to show that he still wants to play the game and wants to keep performing for his side. He may not earn a place in the national side because of his age, but he has shown that he has the hunger to perform in him much like a youngster. He may look 41 but has the temperament of a 19 year old youngster.

He had robust conversations with Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson and Brad Hodge before the start of the match and always wanted to improve his game and gain the most of being a part of a team which consisted of elite players from around the globe. He used to practice religiously in the nets and was ready to perform out of his skin for the team’s cause. Frustration can easily creep into the mind of a player who has not represented his national team for so long and he may easily hang up his shoes, but Pravin Tambe has been a revelation and a true fighter.

He didn’t let his age, frustration of not being selected for Team India disturb him at any course of time. His attitude showed that he was eager to play, perform and keep serving the game of cricket. Coach, Paddy Upton, was all praise for the bowler’s emergence as a top class performer and quoted: “Indeed where was Pravin Tambe. He didn’t even get many matches for the Royals in the Indian Premier League, but still he prepared consistently. He had the skill, and now he also has the ability to read the batsmen. He can strategize accordingly.”

For a player who knows that he may not get a chance to feature in the playing eleven of the Indian Cricket team (because of his age and fierce competition) and still perform so selflessly for a franchise team, is worth applauding. Credit goes to the people who believed in him and gave him a chance to prove his credentials as a quality bowler.

On the other hand, he should be lauded for the energy and charisma shown by him to perform for a club-level team at fag end of his career. He accepted the role entrusted to him by the team members and was in no mood to throw this opportunity. He had waited for a long time and he knew that time was finally on his side now.

He wanted to make this tournament his own and he did it with flying colors. He won the golden wicket award for being the leading wicket taker in the tournament (12 wickets) and for not allowing a heavy flow of runs from the willow of attacking batsmen like Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni, Keiron Pollard, Rohit Sharma and many more.

His story proves that “success will come to you if you wait for the right moment and grab it with both hands. It will be yours if you are ready to strive for it and fight till the very end. One needs to believe in his/her dream and stick to it till the time we don’t achieve it.”

Pravin Tambe, not the ‘rising star’ but the ‘fading star, young at heart, taught us a valuable lesson from his success story.