Vinod Kambli (born 18 January 1972) is an Indian former international cricketer, who played for India as a left-handed middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa. Kambli became the first cricketer to score a century in a One-day International on his birthday. He was a part of the squad which finished as runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy. He has the highest career batting average for an Indian test cricketer of 54 but he played his last test when he was just 23 years old. Thereafter, he was only considered for One Day International matches, although his last appearance in that format was also at the young age of 28. He has appeared as a commentator on various television channels and worked with a Marathi news channel as a cricket expert for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He has also been a part of various reality shows and done a few serials and Bollywood films as an actor. He played a supporting role in the Kannada film Bettanagere. Kambli is currently on the Cricket Improvement Committee for Mumbai Cricket Association

Early life

Vinod Kambli was born into a Maharashtrian Hindu family. He hails from Indira Nagar, Kanjur Marg (Mumbai). He is a childhood friend of the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

School cricket and later

He shared an unbroken partnership of 664 runs with Sachin Tendulkar in a school cricket match against St. Xavier's School, Fort. Kambli contributed 349 runs before their coach Ramakant Acharekar forced the pair to declare the innings; he then took six wickets for 37 runs in St. Xavier's first innings. Kambli started his Ranji Trophy career with a six off the first ball he faced. He made his One Day International and Test debuts in 1991 and 1992, respectively. In Tests, he made four centuries including two double-centuries. He also holds the record for the Indian player to fastest (14 innings) reach 1000 runs in Tests.

International career

He scored 224 against England at Wankhede Stadium in 1993 as his maiden test century in his third test. In the next test against Zimbabwe, he scored 227. In his next test series, he scored 125 and 120 against Sri Lanka. He is also the only cricketer to hit three consecutive test centuries in three innings against three different countries. In his 17 Tests, he averaged 69.13 in the first innings, and just 9.40 in the second innings, with a difference of 59.73. He made his ODI debut in 1991 against Pakistan during the Wills Sharjah Trophy. He played world cup tournaments in 1992 and 1996. He has 2 ODI centuries into his credit: 100 not out against England at Jaipur in 1993 on his birthday, setting the record for becoming the first batsman to score an ODI hundred on his birthday and 106 against Zimbabwe at Kanpur in the 1996 World Cup. He played his last Test match at the age of only 23[11] while he played his last ODI in the year 2000 and formally announced his retirement from first-class cricket on 22 September 2011.[12] He played for Boland province in the South African domestic circuit.

Coaching

On 15 August 2009, Kambli launched his Khel Bharti Sports Academy in Mumbai and announced his retirement from cricket as he wished to coach at Khel Bharti Academy. He has been the Head Coach for the MCA Academy in BKC, Mumbai. Kambli fulfilled a position within Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy between 2018 and 2022. He finished his full time role as TMGA Head Coach for the Academy at DY Patil, Navi Mumbai in early 2022.

Personal life

Kambli first married Noella Lewis, a Catholic at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Poona. She worked as a receptionist at Hotel Blue Diamond (in Pune) in the year 1998. After separating from her Kambli married fashion model Andrea Hewitt. The couple has a child born in June 2010. After his marriage to his second wife Andrea, Kambli converted to the Catholic Church, naming his son Jesus Christiano Kambli. Kambli has stated that he respects all religions. Journalist Kunal Purandare has penned his biography called Vinod Kambli: The Lost Hero.

Health

On Friday, 29 November 2013, Kambli was admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, following a heart attack. Kambli was taken ill while he was driving from Chembur to Bandra and suddenly stopped the car. A policewoman on duty, Sujata Patil noticed he could not drive and arranged to rush him to Lilavati Hospital. Kambli underwent angioplasty on two of his blocked arteries in 2013. In August 2024, a video of Kambli being disoriented and struggling to walk surfaced on the internet , raising wide-spread concerns on his health once again.

Politics

Kambli joined the Bhakti Shakti Party and was appointed vice-president of the party. He contested the 2009 Assembly election from Vikhroli, Mumbai as a Lok Bharati Party candidate and lost the election. However, he continues to do social work. In 2011, he supported Anna Hazare's campaign of India against Corruption.

Film career

Television