New Delhi: Vind Kambi should show mental fortitude to overcome his alcoholism and health issues, only then can people rush to his support, said former India skipper Kapil Dev on Monday.
Kambli has struggled with alcohol-related issues and other health woes after retirement from cricket and appeared markedly frail at a public event held in memory of Ramakant Achrekar, who was his and Sachin Tendulkar’s childhood coach.
The former India batter was a precocious talent who many believed would be one of the giants of the game alongside Tendulkar.
But indisciplined lifestyle and lack of focus led to his decline as he failed to fulfill his potential, in contrast to Tendulkar who went in to become one of cricket’s greatest batters.
Sympathy
“We should all try to support him. But more than us, he has to support himself. We can’t look after anybody if that person can’t look after himself,” Kapil said, as quoted by PTI, at a golf event in Delhi.
“All the cricketers feel very sad about what we have seen. I wish his closest friends can try to get him some help, to look after himself, to go back to rehab. People do get this illness, but you have to get back to rehab.”
Since his retirement from cricket, the left hander has battled multiple health issues, undergoing angioplasty in 2012.
He suffered a cardiac attack in 2013 and his alcohol addiction has forced him to go on rehab over a dozen times.
Kambli played in 104 ODIs and 17 Tests, scoring 2,477 and 1,084 runs, respectively after making a name for himself in school cricket through an unbroken partnership of 664 runs with Tendulkar.
Vinod Kambli has struggled with alcohol-related issues and other health woes after retirement from cricket and appeared markedly frail at a public event held in memory of Ramakant Achrekar Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
