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In a older video that resurfaced online, Rahul Dravid can be seen sharing his opinion that Vinod Kambli might not have been talented in other aspects, resulting in him not being able to establish a long career.
Rahul Dravid (L) and Vinod Kambli (R) – (Image: X)
The former India captain, Head Coach and legendary batter, Rahul Dravid and his comments on Vinod Kambli have gone viral in an old video that resurfaced on social media. The batting legend talked about how a great cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar is more than just his talent with the bat.
Kambli along with Sachin began their cricketing careers through their schoolyears as the two also made their way to the national team during different periods of time as well. Sachin was part of the side when he was 16 while Kambli made his debut three years later.
But Kambli was not able to thrive in the international scene for a prolonged period. His career only lasted for 104 ODIs and 17 Tests after debuting in 1991. Dravid in the video saw how talent gets misjudged for just the ball-striking abilities and suggested that there were other qualities to look out for when in search of talents.
I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people’s ability to strike a cricket ball, the sweetness or the timing of hitting the ball. That’s the only thing we see as pure talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, and temperament, are also talents. I think when we judge we got to look at the whole package,” Dravid commented.
Dravid highlighted Kambli as an example who had immense talent when he first burst onto the international scene. He described the southpaw as one who went hard against the bowler, regardless of the opposition.
“I hate to use this, but Vinod (Kambli) has probably been one of the nicest guys. Vinod had an incredible ball-striking ability. I remember after had the game in Ludhiana we played in Rajkot. Vinod got 150 in that game against (Javagal) Srinath, and Anil (Kumble). It was incredible, first ball Anil came to bowl, he hit him straight onto the wall,” he shared.
The Indian T20 World Cup-winning coach, however, felt that Kambli could have been missing out on some of the other non-tangible qualities, something Sachin had more of, resulting in an illustrious career for the Master Blaster.
“But maybe he didn’t have the talent in the other areas, of just understanding what it took to being an international cricketer or dealing with the stress and the pressure. Maybe Sachin had that much more and that’s why he is where he is today,” he added.
