Vinod Kambli: A gifted cricketer who lost his way in life's possibilities

Vinod Kambli was considered by many to be more talented than Sachin Tendulkar. Kambli matched Don Bradman and Wally Hammond by hammering successive double Test centuries. He last played for India in 2000.

Former India Test batsman Vinod Kambli - known for his pugnacious batting as much as his flamboyant lifestyle - suffered a heart attack on Friday (September 29). Kambli, who fell out of selectors' reckoning over a decade ago, was admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital after he suffered the attack while driving. Kambli will turn 42 on January 18, 2014.

Kambli, who had undergone angioplasty on two of his blocked arteries in July 2012, had last played ODIs for India in 2000. His Test career ended in 1995 and since then, Kambli dabbled into politics before finding a more permanent place in front of television cameras. Although he had been seen on the small screen for several years, it was in 2011 that he officially announced his retirement from cricket.

Early life as a cricketer

Cricket was always the first love for Vinod Ganpat Kambli. Childhood buddies with legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Kambli was considered by many as more talented than his friend. The two shared an unbroken partnership of 664 runs for Shardashram Vidyamandir in an inter-school match in Mumbai in 1988 -- with both batsmen making unbeaten triple centuries. (Also read: Tendulkar-Kambli record shattered) Coached by Ramakant Achrekar, Kambli followed Tendulkar to the national team, playing his first Test against England in 1992-93.

International career

Kambli had a flamboyant style of batting and the left-hander soon became the fastest Indian  to complete 1000 Test runs. Such was his rise that he even breached the 200-run barrier well before Tendulkar, hitting 227 against Zimbabwe in 1993. In fact, Kambli hit two double-centuries and two hundreds in his first eight Test innings! The fact that he also had a safe pair of hands increased his value.

Interestingly though, Kambli played all his 17 Tests before the age of 24 but loss of form in the last few outings meant that he could never make a comeback and finished with 1084 runs at an average of 54.20.

His journey in ODIs though was longer with 104 appearances in which he hit two centuries and 14 fifties. As in Tests though, his form began eluding him in the 50-over format as well towards the turn of the millennium. There was emphasis on youngsters and Kambli began to get overshadowed by the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. The year 2000 spelled doom for the batsman as he played in what became his final ODI against Sri Lanka, scoring just three.

Life post-cricket

At the age of 28, after he lost his place in the Indian team, Kambli explored other avenues in life.  TV shows came as a respite and Kambli made his debut on the small screen in a show called Miss India, in 2002. It was aired on DD National.

Unlike his international cricket career, Kambli's TV career hardly ever took off. He tried his luck in politics. Lok Bharati Party made him its vice-president but he lost the 2009 Vidhan Sabha elections from the Vikhroli (Mumbai) seat. A year later, he married model Andrea Hewitt and has a son named Jesus Christiano.

Tiffs with Sachin Tendulkar

Although they were close friends since their days in school and shared a symbiotic relationship on the cricket field - strengthening their game from each other's talents --  Kambli and Tendulkar slowly drifted apart through the years. According to Kambli, Tendulkar stopped communicating with him after a TV reality show in 2009. In that show, Kambli had said that Tendulkar didn't help him enough to overcome his self-destructive tendencies.

"After that, we never spoke. It has been very difficult for me since we were close friends. I don't know if there is any friendship left. We seem to have become enemies now," Kambli said.

In a recent interview to NDTV, an emotional Kambli had further said that he was hurt that  Tendulkar had not invited him for the farewell dinner party after the legendary cricketer retired on November 16. "I wish he could have taken my name in his speech because I was expecting him to at least mention our world record partnership because it was from there that we started... it was a career-changing innings. I was definitely hurt," he had said.

Kambli has definitely had a more eventful off-field journey than Tendulkar but many believe that he lacked the discipline and determination needed to succeed. That he had enormous talent as a cricketer is not doubted by any but Kambli's inconsistencies on the field and ventures off the field - including acting in two films - probably left Kambli a confused personality who took things too easily to heart.