The 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will welcome Imran Tahir for a second homecoming with the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW). Tahir is more known for his ecstatic celebration running and screaming after every wicket taken. Tahir who has replaced fellow leg-spinner Shadab Khan, will be continuing from where he left off in the 2018 CPL.
How is that! Tahir has the strongest appeal in World cricket
The South African leg-spinner took the most wickets for the GAW in 2018, finishing with 16 scalps in 12 matches with a best bowling figure of 4-22 at an average of 17.75 and an economy rate of 5.91 along with a strike rate of 5.91. Tahir will bring great experience to the table with 262 T20 matches under his belt and 322 wickets under his belt.
Tahir, a 40-year old white-ball spin King, has featured in 107 One Day International (ODI) matches for South Africa and he has 173 wickets under his belt with a best figure of 7-45 which came against West Indies.
Looking up to the big man: Veerasammy Permaul celebrates with Tahir
Tahir’s special connection in St Kitts
In an era where the bats are so big and West Indies are still in search of a premier spinner, Tahir has don in withe-ball cricket. It took Tahir only 58 matches to take 100 ODI wickets which makes him the fastest South African bowler and eighth overall to achieve this monumental milestone. He was also the joint fastest to take 150 wickets by a South African behind Allan Donald.
He has enjoyed both 50 overs and T20 cricket, making the transition to the shortest format with great ease. Tahir enjoys the Caribbean lifestyle where he took his best figures in white-ball cricket against the West Indies in St Kitts and Nevis. These figures remain the best by any South African in ODIs.
Ironically, Tahir will play his first match in the 2019 Hero CPL at the same Warner Park, Basseterre venue in St Kitts and Nevis, where the GAW will meet the Patriots for the second time this season.
Age is just number for Tahir
Some players get ‘rusty’ as they age but this 40-year old, Tahir has gotten better. Playing for South Africa and T20 leagues globally, Tahir has shown his class for every team he represented. Shadab Khan, Rashid Khan and Sandeep Lamichanne would have played their first T20 match as teenagers but the late bloomer, Tahir played his maiden T20 match at 27 years old.
Born in Lahore, Punjab, Tahir has played the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Pakistan Super League, the English T20 league, the CPL among others. In the 2019 IPL, Tahir finished as the leading wicket-taker with 26 wickets. Remember, he is 40 years old and on 26 occasions he ran around the field and celebrated a wicket in the IPL.
Playing for the aging Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Tahir played 17 matches and had an economy rate of 6.69 at a strike rate of 14.8 in the IPL. Fresh from a stint with Surrey in the Vitality T20 Blast in England, Tahir took 4-25 opening the bowling in challenging conditions in England on August 27. He is certainly coming into the CPL with wickets under his belt.
When GAW meet Patriots on Saturday September 14 from 20:00h local time. Not only will Tahir share his experience to the GAW spinners but he will be reminiscing on his best white-ball performance at the same Warner Park venue.
