Sunil Gavaskar (left), Vinod Kambli (right)
Ex-cricketer Vinod Kambli is a relieved man now. Many of his financial worries have ended thanks to the initiative taken by former batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. The former India player, who had suffered setbacks in his health as well as financial issues, will be getting 30,000 rupees per month from Sunil Gavaskar’s CHAMPS Foundation for the rest of his life, and also an annual amount of 30,000 rupees for his medical expenses.
Kambli was already getting a pension of 30,000 from the BCCI, so he will now have a monthly income of 60,000. Since Kambli ran into difficulties, Gavaskar had wanted to help him. Recently, Gavaskar met two of Kambli’s doctors, who briefed him about the situation regarding Kambli. After getting a full picture, Gavaskar asked the CHAMPS Foundation to provide adequate aid to the ailing Kambli. Gavaskar is one of the Trustees of the CHAMPS Foundation along with his wife Marshneil and brother-in-law G.R. Vishwanath.
Kambli’s health issues, which had been plaguing him for several years, deteriorated further several months ago. He was hospitalised many times for urinary tract infection, electrolyte imbalance, and brain clots. During such phases, he couldn’t even walk and had to be lifted by his friends.
To top it all, Kambli had already squandered a vast amount of money on fruitless pursuits like fancy clothes, parties, and alcohol. This extremely talented batsman was a sporting genius who had gone down the wrong path. Here, it is interesting to note a prediction that the famous coach Ramakant Achrekar had made many years ago.
Achrekar, who had coached both Kambli and his classmate Sachin Tendulkar when they were in school, had once said that Kambli is the more talented of the two, but eventually it will be Sachin who will become India’s topmost player. When asked to explain his comment, the coach had stated that it was because Kambli had many things on his mind, but Sachin had only cricket in his mind.
The coach’s understanding of his trainees and his prediction turned out to be one hundred percent accurate. Kambli began his career with a great flourish. He was like a nightmare for the bowlers who bowled to him.
Kambli scored 224 against England in 1993 as his maiden Test century in his third Test. In his next Test against Zimbabwe, he scored 227. In his next test series, he scored 125 and 120 against Sri Lanka. He had 2 ODI centuries to his credit and seemed to be on the verge of an outstanding cricket career. He was the youngest Indian to score a double century. But it all came crashing down, and at a very young age, he vanished from the top levels of the game.
His health problems started in November 2013 when he was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai following a heart attack. He underwent angioplasty on two blocked arteries. Thereafter, he continued to fall ill at regular intervals, and his financial situation deteriorated.
Last year, a video of Kambli struggling to walk surfaced on the internet, raising widespread concerns about his well-being. Cricket fans still remembered his exhilarating strokeplay, and they were concerned about him. Existence seemed to be a big burden for him. But fortunately, Sunil Gavaskar has now stepped in to make the situation easier for the man who could have risen to great heights but failed due to ill health and his own mistakes in life.
This post was last modified on April 17, 2025 8:37 pm