Vinod Kambli- An acute tale of Talent vs Success

Vinod Kambli- An acute tale of Talent vs Success: February 1988, a hot summer’s day in the coastal city of Mumbai, Shardashram Vidyamandir School was playing the Semi-Final of Lord Harris Shield Tournament against St. Xavier’s School. Sachin Tendulkar had scored a century in the previous round and his coach, Mr. Ramakanth Achrekar expected nothing short this time around. St. Xavier’s began well by taking 2 quick wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar walked onto the pitch as if he was born to play there and joined Vinod Kambli who was batting at the other end. The rest as they say is history. Sachin and Kambli went from strength to strength amassing runs at an incredible pace. Their 664 run stand for the third wicket is a record to date. Sachin made his international debut soon after. Vinod Kambli joined his school-mate within a few years. By this time, their story might sound like an excerpt from a fairy tale but there was another twist to their tale.

Vinod and Sachin were 2 sides of the same coin. Sachin was quiet and humble by nature whereas Kambli was known for his aggression and misbehaviour. Their cricketing talent was without doubt incredible. But to stay at the top level, just talent and performances aren’t enough. Cricket is also known as a gentlemen’s game for a reason and Kambli wasn’t quite the perfect gentleman. He was the kind of person who could hit centuries at will and knock out a team-mate in the dressing room later. Frequent comparisons with Sachin, who was by then a legend in making, didn’t help rather added fuel to the fire.

Ego clashes, jealousy further weakened his relationship with his childhood friend. Kambli hit 2 double centuries and a century in 4 tests for India and still holds the record for the fastest Indian to reach 1000 ODI runs. The left-hander featured in 17 tests for India and scored 1084 runs at an average of 54.20 and the best score of 224, Vinod had struck 4 hundreds and 3 half-centuries in his test career. Though he played over a hundred ODIs for India, and he was an underachiever, he had enough to be backed; in 104 ODI matches the southpaw had scored 2477, which included 2 centuries and 14 half-centuries; with the highest score of 106 and an average of 32.59.

Despite of his impressive performances, he could never force himself as a regular member in the squad. It was in the year 1995 that he was a part of the Indian test XI for the last time; though he made repeated comebacks, the ultimate ODI that he played for India was in the year 2000 and it took him quite some time to gulp it down as he announced his retirement from international cricket in 2009. Kambli’s unpopular character, indiscipline and a bad private life contributed to his decline from the international stage.

Every aspiring Cricketer should follow the golden rule or the rule of 3 Ds- Discipline, Determination and Dedication. Sadly, Vinod Kambli couldn’t quite make it big and he remains a case study in what might have been.