The friendship between Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar has seen its fair share of drama with highs and lows catching the attention of cricket fans time and again. Kambli and Tendulkar have known each other since they were 10 years old.
But their bond went down a storm when Vinod accused his best friend of shockingly not supporting him during his tough times on the 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 the post-retirement celebration.
Vino Kambli’s criticism of Sachin Tendulkar’s batting and the shot that broke his friendship
Despite this turbulent period, they got back on speaking terms and became good friends once more. However, this was not the first time Vinod Kambli bowled Sachin Tendulkar. Even Kambli was critical of 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 at not being selected in the playing XI turned into a scathing criticism of his teammates, including the Master Blaster.
The cricket expert said that Tendulkar and himself were key players at that time and that Kambli, who was not in the playing XI, would constantly criticize their performances after the matches in the 1992 World Cup. Even when Tendulkar and Manjrekar formed a solid partnership in the match against Zimbabwe, Kambli’s criticism was unrelenting and questioned their pace of play.
He didn’t even spare his Hair: Sanjay Manjrekar in Vinod Kambli’s character
Sanjay Manjrekar described how Kambli, frustrated at not getting his chance, would target both him and Sachin Tendulkar, even going so far as to criticize one of the greatest batsmen of all time for not being aggressive enough against weaker bowlers. The commentator stated that Vinod Kambli is one of those rare people who can even offend the legendary Tendulkar.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on Sportskeeda three years ago, “This story is from the 1992 World Cup when Vinod Kambli was in the Indian World Cup team. Kambli is a character you know and he was very friendly with me and Sachin. He did not play in the first few matches of the World Cup. He was in a bad mood; he got a little annoyed. Sachin and I were two established players, so we used to buy all the matches. But when we met after every match, he followed us. He would criticize; ‘What is this shot? You could play faster.” He didn’t even spare his hair.”
He further recalled, “We had a good partnership with Sachin in the match against Zimbabwe. It was a small goal and we won the match. Nevertheless, in the evening Kambli again said, ‘Match and all is well; but we could have won it long ago. He told Sachin, “John Traicos is a very ordinary bowler. You could shoot him off the ground; You were single. “Our target was to win the match,” Sachin said. But Vinod did not learn. If there is anyone who can hurt Sachin, it is Vinod Kambli.
Former players support Kambli amid growing health problems
Recently, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and the 1983 World Cup-winning team offered their support to Vinod Kambli following growing concerns over his physical and mental health. Kambli recently attended an event at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park to pay tribute to his former coach, the late Ramakant Achrekar, who mentored both him and Sachin Tendulkar.
During the event, videos of Kambli struggling to stand up, speak clearly and maintain his composure went viral on social media, leaving many concerned. After that, former Indian captains came out to support the former Indian batsman.
