Concerns around former India batter Vinod Kambli’s health have risen following his recent public appearance where he was witnessed having a slurred speech and finding it difficult to hold himself together, which has led to the 1983 World Cup-winning team offering its help.
Kambli was part of the unveiling of a memorial of his childhood coach, the late Ramakant Achrekar, in Mumbai recently, where his former school and India teammate Sachin Tendulkar was also present.
While meeting Tendulkar, Kambli refused to let go of his hand and was later seen addressing the crowd in Marathi in garbled speech.
Worried about his well-being, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said the entire 1983 World Cup winning squad is ready to do whatever it takes for the well-being of the 52-year-old Kambli.
“The 1983 team is very conscious of the younger players. For me, they are like grandsons. If you see their age, some are like sons. We are all very concerned, particularly when fortunes desert them. I don’t like the word help. What the ’83 team wants to do is take care of him. We want to take care of Vinod Kambli and help him get back on his feet,” said Gavaskar talking to ‘Sports Today’.
“How we will do, we’ll see in future. We want to take care of cricketers who are struggling when fortunes don’t smile on them,” Gavaskar said from Australia, where he is part of the commentary team involved in the Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia.
During their school days at Shardashram Vidyamandir, Tendulkar and Kambli first got attention for their remarkable 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield match. Both scored unbeaten triple centuries in that game.
Tendulkar’s legendary cricket career encompassed 200 Test matches and 463 ODIs, and he ended up scoring 100 international centuries alongside numerous other world records.
In contrast, Kambli’s international career ended prematurely, consisting of only 17 Test matches and 104 ODIs, despite a promising start that included two Test double centuries.
