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Kambli has now received assistance from the members of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team, but on one condition: Kambli must be willing to take the first step towards recovery.
The legendary World Cup-winning IND skipper Kapil Dev expressed his concern over Kambli’s condition, as he emphasised on the need for self-help alongside external support from well-wishers.
Former India batter Vinod Kambli has been struggling with alcohol-related and other health issues, which was brought to life after a recent video of Kambli from a public event organised for his late coach Ramakanth Achrekar resulted in fresh concerns over his health.
The event was also attended by Sachin Tendulkar. In clips from the event which went viral on social media, Kambli was seen clutching Tendulkar’s hand and refusing to let go. He also seemed to struggle with his speech.
Kambli represented India in 17 Tests and 104 One-Day Internationals between 1991 and 2000, amassing 3,561 runs across both formats.
Several media reports have already brought Kambli’s struggles to light. His alcohol addiction has already led to several conflicts with his friends from the cricketing circle.
However, the former India cricketer has now received assistance from the members of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team, but on one condition: Kambli must be willing to take the first step towards recovery.
VIDEO | “We should all try to support him (Vinod Kambli), more than I trying to support him, he should support himself, we can’t look after him if he does not want to look after himself so all the cricketers feel very sad to see him and I wish he or his closest friends spending… pic.twitter.com/ePeGSdNwfD— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 9, 2024
“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 Dev, who is also the president of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), said while speaking at the launch of the Vishwa Samudra Open.
“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.”
Even legenadry batter Sunil Gavaskar extended his support to Kambli, stating, “What the ’83 team wants to do is take care of him. We want to take care of Vinod Kambli and help him get back on his feet.”
This isn’t the first time that Kapil Dev & Co have come forward to extend monetary help to a former Indian cricketer. Earlier, the heroes of the ’83 World Cup provided support to former opener and coach Anshuman Gaekwad in his battle with cancer.
(with agency inputs)