IPL 2018: Meet the oldest cricketer of the season

Veteran South African spinner Imran Tahir has carved a reputation as one of the best limited-overs’ leg-spinners of his time ever since his foray into the international scene. A feisty character on the pitch, Tahir boasts of a rich repertoire of variations, with an accurate googly being his biggest weapon.

The Proteas cricketer, who has successfully plied his trade in various T20 leagues all across the globe, joined the cash-rich IPL in 2014 with the Delhi Daredevils franchise. The Pakistani-origin cricketer continued his stint with the franchise till 2016.

Tahir enjoyed a successful campaign last year as well after joining the Steven Smith-led side, Rising Pune Supergiant, as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh. For the upcoming edition, the leg-spinner was bought for his base price of Rs 1 crore to Chennai Super Kings. Interestingly, at 38 years and 298 days, Tahir was the oldest cricketer in the IPL auction this year.

The South African leggie will continue to share the IPL dressing room with former Indian skipper MS Dhoni after spending the past two years with him at Rising Pune Supergiant. An excellent wicket-taker, Tahir’s performance avers his age is just a number and to get him at such a low price was indeed a steal for CSK. He has been phenomenal for his national side also in the shorter formats of the game.

Imran Tahir learning Tamil ahead of CSK stint

Although Tahir started his IPL career very late, his 47 wickets in 32 IPL matches at an average of 24.46 and an economy of 8.21 serves as a testament to his magnanimous potential. And with such impeccable stats, Tahir has made his mark as one of the leading bowlers in the league.

However, recently Imran Tahir gave a glimpse of his preparation for his near two-month stay in India from April. While he’ll be donning the yellow outfit of the CSK, he will be facing a tough time to communicate in the local language of Tamil.

Thus to make his stay comfortable, the veteran leggie is already a step ahead in his preparation to master this challenge. Tahir only recently shared a post on his official Twitter handle where he introduced his followers to his Tamil teacher – Prasanna.

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