Highlights:
- At Sachin Tendulkar’s Academy, Vinod Kambli served as a mentor
- Kambli stated that he is currently looking for employment because he has a family to support.
- Kambli also stated that Sachin Tendulkar has always been there for him.
Former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli is currently unemployed and looking for cricketing jobs to support himself. After a fantastic start to his career, Kambli briefly became one of the most popular figures in Indian cricket in the early 1990s. Kambli scored 793 runs at an average of 113.29, including two double century, in his first seven Test matches. But Kambli’s extravagant lifestyle proved to be a distraction, and after nine attempts to rejoin the squad, the door was ultimately closed on the former left-handed hitter.
The post-Covid world has affected the 50-year-old Kambli, who last managed a team in the 2019 T20 Mumbai League since he only receives INR 30,000 from the BCCI. At the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy in Nerul, Kambli used to coach young cricket players. The retiring cricketer believes it would be too far to travel to Nerul.
“I am a retired cricketer who is completely dependent on the pension from the BCCI. My only payment [source of income] at the moment is from the Board, for which I am really thankful and grateful. It takes care of my family,” said Kambli in an interview with Mid-Day.
He is currently seeking help from the MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association). Kambli states his need for assignments where he can get the opportunity to work with youngsters. He joined the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), which he described as an honorary job. He further went on to say that he is always there whenever the MCA needs him, be it at the Wankhede or the BKC. “Mumbai cricket has given me a lot. I owe my life to this game,” said Kambli.
Kambli has previously worked as a coach on a few occasions. He led young cricket players while working with the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy and coaching a squad in the Mumbai T20 League in 2019. However, Kambli was forced to forgo the latter because Nerul was too distant for him to travel and because the task would be physically taxing for him. Although Kambli’s close buddy Sachin Tendulkar is aware of his financial predicament, he has limited his expectations, according to Kambli.
“Sachin knows everything, but I am not expecting anything from him,” says Kambli. He is grateful for Sachin handing him the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy (TMGA) assignment and says that Sachin has always been a good friend to him.
Kambli played for India in 104 One-Day Internationals and 17 Tests. Between 1991 and 2000, he amassed 3561 runs across all formats, including four test centuries and two ODI hundreds.