Throughout his life, former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli, who was one of the most prolific players on and off the field, has struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism as well as other personal and health issues.
To overcome these problems, he has spent time in rehab 14 times. Recently, a video of Kambli and his childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar went viral on social media, in which they attended an event held in Mumbai to commemorate the birth anniversary of their late guru Ramakant Achrekar.
During the event, a very frail-looking Kambli was seen trying to hug Tendulkar. The cricketer, who earlier had a net worth between Rs 12 to 13 crore, is now barely surviving on just Rs 30,000 BCCI pension. In an interview to Mumbai tabloid 'Mid-Day' a few years ago, Kambli had begged for a job.
Kambli was quoted as saying, "I am a retired cricketer, completely dependent on the pension I get from the BCCI. My only payment (source of income) at the moment is from the board, for which I am really grateful. It takes care of my family."
Kambli had told Mid-Day. "I need an assignment where I can work with youngsters. I know Mumbai have retained Amol (Muzumdar) as their head coach, but if I am needed somewhere, I am there. We have played together and we were a great team. That's what I want them (the current Mumbai team) to do... play as a team."
Sandeep Thorat, a businessman from Maharashtra, offered Kambli a job of Rs 1 lakh after seeing this interview go viral in 2022. However, Kambli declined the offer. The reason Kambli turned down the job offer was that the job was not cricket-related, he was offered a position in the finance department of Sahyadri Industries Group in Mumbai However, the 52-year-old former left-handed batsman from Mumbai had revealed that Nerul was too far from his Jewel Tower flat in Mumbai's Bandra West area. "I used to wake up at 5 am, take a taxi to DY Patil Stadium. It used to be very hectic. Then I used to coach at the BKC ground in the evening," Kambli had told Mid-Day.
