'I'm very keen to come back and play' - Tahir eyes CPL 2027 at 48
Imran Tahir will be 48 next year when the CPL starts • CPL T20
Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Imran Tahir wants to return to the CPL next year, by when he will be 48. Tahir's performances, however, are showing no signs of aging. He was the joint-highest wicket-taker in CPL 2026, where he also led Amazon Warriors to Qualifier 2 finish, which they lost to eventual runners-up and debutants Jamaica Kingsmen.
"I'm very keen to come back and play because I feel this is my home. I get a lot of love when I come here," Tahir said at a press conference in Georgetown after the CPL ended. "I'm looking to finish my career in front of the Guyanese crowd.
"So look, I'm very motivated. I really wanted to finish [this season] on a high note, and probably I'm looking to finish my career, obviously, in front of the Guyanese crowd.
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"I just want to say a big thank you to them. I would really like to see myself coming here and say goodbye."
Tahir finished this CPL with 16 wickets, level with Hunain Shah, Alzarri Joseph and Matthew Forde, and also became the first overseas player to feature in 100 CPL games. By the time he finished this tournament, he was leading the wicket-taking charts in the CPL overall after overtaking Sunil Narine. When Tahir bagged figures of 5 for 17 - his career-best in over 450 T20 games - earlier this month against St Lucia Kings, he became the oldest player, at 47, to take a five-for in T20 cricket.
Tahir has been playing the tournament since 2018 - all for Amazon Warriors - to accumulate 146 wickets from 102 games. Before the CPL this year, he also led the franchise to their maiden Global Super League title, a tournament that also featured San Francisco Unicorns from MLC, Desert Vipers from ILT20, Lahore Qalandars from the PSL and Perth Scorchers from the BBL.
"I get motivated to come here and play my cricket, trying to get fit, eat well," Tahir said. "It is not easy because if someone is eating ice cream and I'm in front of them, it's very difficult to control yourself. But that's what you have to do if you want to play for another year and another year."
Tahir has been leading the franchise since 2023, when he led them to a title victory and helped them make the finals in 2024 and 2025 as well before finishing in Qualifier 2 this year. Will he return next year or not is a decision not only in his hands, he said.
"There will be questions about me, and I'm the kind a guy that like challenges and stuff," he said. "For me, my part is to give my role not as a captain, but as a player towards the team. I think I tried my best, so obviously I leave it with the management, I leave it with the team owner and the president, they have to decide where my future will be."
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