While several youngsters caught the eye in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction on Thursday, leg-spinner Pravin Tambe embodied the saying 'age is just a number'. At 48, Tambe became the oldest player to be bought in an IPL auction when he was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for his base price of Rs 20 lakh. If he is given a game by the franchise, Tambe will become the oldest player to play in the IPL. That record is currently held by Australian spinner Brad Hogg, who played for KKR at the age of 44.

Twitter users were left impressed by the fact that Pravin Tambe got picked at the IPL auction, with many saying that his story is an inspirational one that teaches people to never give up.

"48-year-old #PravinTambe attracting bids in the IPL auction is the biggest story for me this season. It gives me a very valuable lesson which is -Keep working hard and never stop preserving, for you never know when an opportunity comes knocking!" one user tweeted.

"Pravin Tambe will be playing in the IPL next year, at age 48 and a half! Inspirational," tweeted another.

"My request is to give maximum chance to pravin tambe," wrote another user.

"Pravin Tambe has been picked up by @KKRiders for@TheVivoIPLT20! He is 48!! His coaching academy is less than a mile from where I stay. Many say age is just a number. This guy is living that line! Will he get to play a match though? #IPLAuction2020 @legytambe Good luck sirji," a user wrote.

48-year-old #PravinTambe attracting bids in the IPL auction is the biggest story for me this season. It gives me a very valuable lesson which is -Keep working hard and never stop preserving, for you never know when an opportunity comes knocking!#IPLAuction2020 #IPL2020 — Yash Mittal (@im_yash2307) December 19, 2019

Pravin Tambe has been picked up by @KKRiders for @TheVivoIPLT20! He is 48!! His coaching academy is less than a mile from where I stay. Many say age is just a number. This guy is living that line! Will he get to play a match though? #IPLAuction2020 @legytambe Good luck sirji — Harish Menon (@MenonHc) December 19, 2019

I'm waiting to see a movie on Pravin Tambe's life. Playing IPL at the age of 48 is phenomenal. So inspirational. Just signifies, if you have the skills age doesn't matter. #IPL2020Auction #IPLAuction — DesiBeam (@couchmasala) December 19, 2019

Pravin Tambe will be playing in the IPL next year, at age 48 and a half! Inspirational. — Neeran Karnik (@neeran) December 19, 2019

My request is to give maximum chance to pravin tambe @KKRiders — Anandraj (@Anandra29980664) December 19, 2019

Well well well... KKR always amaze me with their picks and they have done the same again... Old vintage PRAVIN TAMBE is our new knight

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Just like wine is more testy as it grows old I hope tambe sir does the same and show his magic for u....... #KKR — Avrojit Dutta (@DuttaAvrojit) December 19, 2019

There were some who saw the funny side to the story, tweeting that Chennai Super Kings missed out on the spinner. The MS Dhoni-led team often gets trolled for buying older players and many fans thought Tambe perfectly fit their bill.

KKR beat CSK with Age



It does not surprise me that 48 years old Pravin Tambe has been picked by KKR. Last year he took 4 wickets off 5 balls in a T10 match. The batsmen he dismissed were Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, Kieron Pollard and Fabian Allen.#IPL2020Auction #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/OmlSS0opBn — RomanEmpire (@positivevibessa) December 19, 2019

csk should buy pravin tambe. Age 48 another leg spinner fulfilling their criteria #IPL2020Auction — Hritik Pawar (@hritikpawar123) December 19, 2019

Tambe, who made his IPL debut at the age of 41, said that as far as he is concerned, he does not feel any different now than he did as a 20-year-old.

"I still play with a mindset like I am a 20-year-old," Tambe was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

"I will bring all my experience and energy to the team. And that positivity. I know that I can bring that, even if I'm with them not playing," he added.

Promoted

"People say many things but I keep doing my job and put in a lot of hard work. I will like to do well in whatever role given to me be it in fielding or bowling. It's not to prove anything. If that was the case, I could not have played so long. I'm really excited to play for them," he said.

KKR bolstered their squad with nine players at the auction, including England's World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan and Australia pacer Pat Cummins, who became the highest paid overseas player in the tournament's history.