Pravin Tambe's life story is an extraordinary example that age or a prescribed pathway are no barriers in cricket. Long before he became the oldest debutant in IPL history at 41 - without a single game in professional cricket behind him - Tambe was solely driven by an unshakable love for legspin bowling. Today, this stubborn faith is shaping a new generation of women cricketers at the Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League.

Tambe's foray into women's cricket was just as accidental, and totally away from spotlight. Palak Dharamshi, all of nine, walked into Tambe's cricket academy in Mulund, Mumbai in 2013, three years since its opening. Her basics were flawed, wrong-footed bowling action among others, but she had intent. Tambe, fresh off his maiden IPL stint, took her under his wings as a challenge despite never having coached a girl before. Within a couple of years of hard work, for the medium-pacer she had been honed into, Dharamshi was picked in Mumbai's age-group side at 11.

That selection call changed something for Tambe. "If someone could start from scratch and go on to play for Mumbai in such short time, why not many?," he wondered. Tambe, father to a daughter himself, decided to open his academy's gates for young girls totally free of cost. Slowly, steadily, and one deserving enrollment at a time, he went on to build a women's team of his own for local cricket tournaments.

At the time, Tambe himself was still actively chasing a career in cricket. He was juggling the day job he's held for 25 years at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, his cricket, coaching and familial responsibilities simultaneously but never obsessed over selection even late into his 30s. He knew his time would come, "if and when it was written" for him. It's the same mindset that got him to IPL, and also became his coaching philosophy.

When Gujarat Giants approached him, ahead of the third season of WPL, Tambe did not hesitate. It felt like a natural progression. He had already worked with women for years by then, and this opportunity was "a full-circle moment" - from coaching one girl in his academy to becoming the spin-bowling coach of a professional women's franchise.

Two seasons in at the Giants, and Tambe is not trying to reinvent bowlers. His work revolves around the idea of trust - the trust in bowlers' skill-set and the trust between a spinner and her captain.

"In a practice session, I focus on how I can enable them to build that trust with their captain because, I believe, it's the captain who handles the spinners eventually on the field. I try to encourage them to have interactions with their captain," Tambe says of the spin contingent at Giants.

"Trust is built in the nets, and demonstrated on the field. Your captain needs to know what your strengths are, what your fields are, so that she knows what her options are on the field. It's never ideal if your captain doesn't know the full scope of your skills. So, I try to work on their mindset like that and I try to encourage those interactions."

Conversations on adding variations are parked for the off-season camps to not confuse the players. "Reading the conditions well, understanding the nature of different wickets, the bounce and the grip of a red soil wicket to a black soil wicket, what variations to bowl and when," are areas he works on whether it's a young mind like Anushka Sharma, a quiet one like Tanuja Kanwer, or an experienced one in Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

In the rapidly-evolving women's game, totals in excess of 180+ have become the norm and spinners are often targeted for entertainment. But Tambe's messaging remains consistent: don't abandon what brought you here.

"If you've reached a level as big as WPL, the skills already exist. The actual battle is the understanding of when and how to use them. More importantly, trust your skills. Even on days when you get smashed. Because if, under that pressure, you try something that you've not practised then there's a greater chance of it backfiring. Instead, if you trust your skills and process. At least, at the end of the day you won't return with the guilt that you leaked easy runs in trying something you didn't have full control over."

Cricket, he says, has given them more than he ever imagined. Coaching women is his way of giving back - not as a favour but a responsibility.

"The WPL has inspired a lot of parents of young girls to let them pursue the game if they show early interest. I've myself seen a significant spike in intake. It's very heart-warming to see. I'm really proud of this part of my association with cricket. Coaching girls and women have been very satisfying."

Beyond WPL, Tambe remains equally passionate towards the cause of building pathways for women, both through his own academy and at DY Patil that now offers employment alongside training. For many girls of middle-class backgrounds, this financial security has been a game-changer. Humaira Kazi (Mumbai Indians) and Saima Thakor (UP Warriorz) have already gone on play in the WPL. The latter has even made India debut. For Tambe, these are not mere statistics but a simple validation that belief when combined with access can transform careers. He's experienced it first-hand, after all.