The friendship between Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar has seen its fair share of drama, with highs and lows that caught the attention of cricket fans many times. Kambli and Tendulkar have known each other since they were both just 10 years old.
But their bond shattered in a storm when Vinod shockingly accused his best friend of not supporting him during his tough times on a reality show. This led to years of coldness between the two, and when Sachin Tendulkar retired, Vinod Kambli was left out of his farewell speech and even missed a post-retirement celebration.
Vino Kambli’s criticism of Sachin Tendulkar’s batting and the fallout that shattered their friendship
Despite this turbulent period, they returned to talking terms and once again became good friends. However, this wasn’t the first time Vinod Kambli had upset Sachin Tendulkar. Even Kambli used to demerit Tendulkar’s batting performance.
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Reflecting on Kambli’s unique character, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar shared an interesting story about the 1992 World Cup, where his former teammate’s frustration over not being selected in the playing XI turned into sharp criticism of his teammates, including the Master Blaster as well.
The cricket pundit shared that Tendulkar and himself were key players at that time, and Kambli, who wasn’t in the playing XI, would constantly criticize their performances after matches at the 1992 World Cup. Even when Tendulkar and Manjrekar had a solid partnership in a match against Zimbabwe, Kambli’s criticism was relentless, questioning the pace of their game.
He didn’t even spare Sachin: Sanjay Manjrekar on Vinod Kambli’s character
Sanjay Manjrekar described how Kambli, frustrated by not getting his chance, would target both him and Sachin Tendulkar, even going as far as criticizing one of the all-time greatest batters for not being aggressive enough against weaker bowlers. The commentator revealed that Vinod Kambli is one of the rarest persons who could upset even the legendary Tendulkar.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on Sportskeeda three years back: “This story is from the 1992 World Cup when Vinod Kambli was in the Indian World Cup team. Kambli is someone you know is a character and he was very friendly with me and Sachin. In the first few matches of the World Cup, he wasn’t playing. His mood was off; he was a bit upset. Sachin and I were the two established players so we were getting all the matches. But after every match, when we would meet, he would come after us. He would criticise; ‘What is this batting? You could have played faster’. He didn’t even spare Sachin.”
He further recalled, “In a match against Zimbabwe, Sachin and I had a good partnership. It was a small target and we won the match. Despite that, in the evening, Kambli would again go like ‘The match and all is fine; but we could have won it a lot earlier. He told Sachin, ‘John Traicos is such an ordinary bowler. You could have hit him out of the ground; you were taking singles’. Sachin said ‘our target was to win the match’. But Vinod did not learn. If there is one person who could upset Sachin, that is Vinod Kambli.”
Former players extend support to Kambli amid growing health concerns
Recently, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and the 1983 World Cup-winning team offered to support Vinod Kambli, following growing concerns about his physical and mental health. Kambli recently attended a function at Shivaji Park in Mumbai to pay tribute to his former coach, the late Ramakant Achrekar, who mentored both him and Sachin Tendulkar.
During the event, videos surfaced on social media showing Kambli struggling to stand, speak clearly, and maintain his composure, leaving many concerned. After that, the former Indian captains came out to support the former Indian batter.