’Vinod Kambli didn’t even spare Sachin’, Sanjay Manjrekar recalls 1992 incident; calls ailing cricketer a ‘character’
Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar have been friends since they were 10 years old and played together for the Indian cricket team in the nineties.
Vinid Kambli has been in the talk of the town in recent times after the former India cricketer's ailing condition became public. While a video where Kambli was unable to walk caught the attention of the netizens, another visual of the former south clutching the hands of dear friend Sachin Tendulkar and never leave, took the internet by storm.
Kambli and Tendulkar's friendship go a long way. From playing age-level cricket together to forging a record 664-run stand in a Harris Shield match in 1988, to playing for India together, the story of Kambli-Tendulkar duo is one to remember.
However, things took a different turn when Kambli accused his childhood best friend Tendulkar of not supporting him during the latter's tough times. Not only the claim impact their friendship, but they didn't even speak with each other for three years.
In fact, Tendulkar stroked Kambli off from his retirement speech in 2013 and not even invited his childhood best friend in his post-retirement get-together. But the two bonded back and were seen together at the inauguration of legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar's memorial in Mumbai.
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who played alongside Kambli and Tendulkar in the nineties. Recalling a 1992 incident, Manjrekar described Kambli as ‘quite a character’ and stated how the southpaw would go after then-India captain Tendulkar for not finding a place in the playing XI.
“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,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying to Sportskeeda three years ago. "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," said the cricketer-turned-commentator.
"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," he continued.
When Sachin, Manjrekar hit back at Kambli
Going by the records, Kambli featured in five ODIs in 1991 and played a couple of matches in the lead up to the 1992 World Cup. But his performances weren't very worthy. He finally made his World Cup debut for India against Pakistan, returning with 41-ball 24.
It was Manjrekar and Tendulkar's turn to hit out at Kambli. "This kept happening until Vinod finally got a chance in the India vs Pakistan match. And there is scored at a strike rate of 54 or 56. Sachin and I were looking at each other and saying 'Let him come back' and it'll be out turn to get back at him.
"So after the match, we took Vinod in a corner and said 'What happened? You hit such big sixes in the nets. What happened during the match?' Then he says 'they were bowling very tight'. That was his simple explanation. So yeah, he was quite the character," he said.
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Business NewsSportsCricket News’Vinod Kambli didn’t even spare Sachin’, Sanjay Manjrekar recalls 1992 incident; calls ailing cricketer a ‘character’
First Published:9 Dec 2024, 11:20 AM IST
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