IPL 2008 was a season of the underdogs where Rajasthan Royals proved their class, they fought against all odds to win the inaugural IPL season. Ahead of the tournament, nobody gave them a chance, but they surprised everyone and lifted the trophy at the end of the tournament.
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The Royals had a lot of new faces who played a vital part in the team’s success, and Pakistan’s pacer Sohail Tanvir was one of them. Tanvir proved his class to the world in that tournament. The left-arm pacer took 22 wickets at an economy of 6.46 and won the Purple Cap.
ALSO READ: When Shane Warne threatened to leave Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2008
Against Chennai Super Kings, Tanvir bowled a record spell of 4-0-14-6, where he took wickets of Parthiv Patel, Stephen Fleming, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Albie Morkel, Makahaya Ntini and Muttiah Muralitharan. However, Tanvir had once said that captain Shane Warne did not want him to play for the side ahead of the tournament.
Tanvir’s record spell in the IPL 2008 season was the best IPL bowling figures till 2019. Alzarri Joseph, who was playing for Mumbai Indians broke Tanvir’s record in IPL 2019 when he bowled a spell of 3.4-1-12-6 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sohail Tanvir revealed how Shane Warne did not wanted him ahead of IPL 2008
Sohail Tanvir had once revealed that ahead of the IPL 2008, he got a call from the management that Warne does not want him. Tanvir missed the first match of the tournament, but then Warne got impressed by seeing Tanvir bowl in the nets. After his first performance, Warne was elated with the pacer.
Tanvir insisted that Warne was retired from the game and that’s why he did not know about his capabilities. He told that Warne played a very big part in the rest of the tournament as he used to fill a lot of confidence in him. Warne was the 2nd highest wicket-taker of IPL 2008.
“I was in Pakistan when the team manager told me ‘Shane Warne is saying that we don’t need you right now. When we do, we will call you’,” Tanvir had told Capital TV.
“Warne had not seen me because he had retired from international cricket and he was probably not following it much either. We went to Bangalore; he saw me in the nets playing and told me ‘Be ready’. I bowled well and picked up 2/26. After that match, he came to me and said ‘you are my man’.”
Warne was said to be the biggest influence on the team during the successful IPL 2008 campaign. Shane Watson also said that Warne used to fill a lot of confidence in the players and that helped the team to do well in the tournament.
