At the age of 48, Pravin Tambe became the oldest player to be bought at IPL auction. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) purchased him at his base price of INR 20 lakhs. However, the leg-spinner won’t be able to take part in the upcoming edition of the league. Last year, he participated in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and hence, violated BCCI’s regulations.
Since he is now deemed ineligible to take part in the league, the KKR management will have to look for alternatives to fill in the void created. There are several options for them to choose from. However, they can only pick from the Indian players as they have already filled their overseas quota of 8 players.
KKR doesn’t have many experienced Indian options to pick from and thus, they would be focusing on acquiring an exciting young cricketer. In all likelihood, they will look to replace Pravin Tambe with a proper bowling option keeping the squad composition in mind.
Here are the three alternatives for Pravin Tambe:
1. Sudhesan Midhun

Sudhesan Midhun might sound a familiar name for many of you. The rookie leg-spinner was earlier associated with the Rajasthan Royals. Although he didn’t get to make his IPL debut, the Kerala cricketer has been around for some time and possibly picked up from the brains of many other legendary cricketers in the RR set-up.
He found no bidders for him in this IPL auction after he was released by the Royals. Sudhesan is 25 years old and has looked quite promising so far. He just made his first-class debut in the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy and made his List-A debut in 2018.
Midhun played 14 T20 games so far in his career. He accounted for 14 wickets in these matches with best bowling figures of 4/5. His economy rate of 6.62 in the shortest format of the game is quite impressive and he can be a useful option in the KKR set-up. He is that kind of a player in whom that franchise can invest in keeping the future prospects in mind.
2. Shams Mulani

Even though he is just 22 years old, Shams Mulani has made a name for himself in the domestic circuit already. He made his First-class, List A and T20 debuts in 2018 and has looked impressive in whatever opportunities that he got. The slow left-arm bowler is still to be picked by an IPL team.
In the 22 T20 games he featured in, Mulani picked up 20 wickets. While there is a scope of improvement in this aspect, his economy rate of 6.28 stands out. He can be quite dynamic and is capable of bowling in different stages of an innings.
Moreover, he is a handy batsman and can strike a few big blows as well. Mulani has a half-century in the shortest format of the game and gives more options to the captain. He and Manimaran Siddharth – both slow-left arm orthodox bowlers – can learn a lot by sharing the dressing room with some of the biggest names in world cricket.
3. KC Cariappa

Fondly called Carri by his teammates, the journey so far for KC Cariappa hasn’t been on the expected lines. He was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2015 for INR 2.4 crores. Then, he went on to represent the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and even featured in IPL 2019 when he represented KKR again.
However, he went unsold in the IPL 2020 auction owing to his poor performances in the league. The 25-year-old featured in 11 games so far in the league and picked up eight wickets. His economy rate of 9.67 and average of 43.5 disappointed many despite all the talent that he possesses.
KKR can look to provide the youngster with another opportunity. Cariappa belongs to a rare breed of left-arm wrist-spinners. He is more of a like for like replacement for Pravin Tambe and can look to reclaim his stake this time around.
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