hunger made the difference this year

AT the age of 44 most cricketers would not be romping with international players in the second most popular T20 League in the World.
But leg-spinner Imran Tahir is not most cricketers and not only did he compete with present and former internationals in the 11th edition of the CPL T20 tournament, but his 18 wickets were bettered only by fellow South African Dwaine Pretorius’ 20 scalps.

Tahir, whose 39 wickets are the most wickets in a World Cup for South Africa, was emotional at Sunday night’s presentation after leading the Guyana Amazon Warriors to their first CPL title after five previous appearances in the finals.

“Everyone was sending jokes that I had become a captain, so I think actually those things motivated me; so I want to thank those people who said that,” said Tahir, who has been with the Warriors for the past seven years.

“It’s been a great experience playing for this beautiful franchise and playing for these beautiful people who always come and support us. Winning this is a dream come true,” said Tahir with tears of joy running down his cheeks.

The evergreen Tahir would be remembered by fans for his celebration of running with outstretched arms with his long silver locks blowing in the wind.
[I] “…also want to thank our analyst Prasanna… he’s been working every day, 20 hours a day, and giving me all the plans,” posited Tahir, who praised the President of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali for his support of the team.

Tahir, the first South African bowler to take seven wickets in an ODI, thanked Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin for predicting that his team would win the tournament.
“President Ali provided all that we wanted to be successful as well as a backroom staff. The little things that happen behind the scenes are also important,” informed Tahir, who has taken 54 wickets from 20 Tests and 173 from 107 ODIs.

“I think this year we were more hungry than ever before. That’s the thing, I think if you want something really badly, it will happen for you, even though we lost our first Qualifier, explained Tahir in his first season as Guyana’s captain

Everyone was talking about the toss, and we did it in both situations… batting and bowling first… and we won games. The team belief was there,” added Tahir
“Result is never guaranteed, but the way we came back in the competition, and I said one thing before we came here for the final, ‘we’ve been the best team in the competition, no one can stop us if we play the brand of cricket we’ve been playing,” said Tahir, who has 82 wickets in 59 IPL games between 2014-2019.

Such was the Warriors’ dominance that the top two batters (Shai Hope & Saim Ayub) and the top two bowlers were members of the Warriors team.
Tahir moved from Pakistan to South Africa via the UK for the love of a woman.
When he arrived in South Africa, after meeting his wife Sumayya during the 1998 Under-19 World Cup, he established himself in the first-class set-up.
In 2011 Tahir became a South African citizen but he had to wait until the 2011 World Cup for his debut. He made an immediate impact, finishing the tournament as South Africa’s second-highest wicket-taker.

On South Africa’s tour to the UAE in October 2013, Tahir took his first Test five-for against his former countrymen Pakistan, but it was ‘white ball’ cricket he would flourish in.
Tahir earned a reputation for being able to contain the middle-periods of matches while also taking wickets, and his rise coincided with South Africa’s limited-overs recovery, especially after the 2015 World Cup.

Tahir was even more effective in the T20 format in which he has taken just over 500 wickets in 401 matches with three five-wicket hauls.