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'One Person Who Could Upset Sachin': Manjrekar Reveals How Kambli Irritated Tendulkar

Soumyajit Dutta

Sanjay Manjrekar revealed unheard dynamics of Sachin-Kambli friendship [Source: @sanjaymanjrekar/X.com]Sanjay Manjrekar revealed unheard dynamics of Sachin-Kambli friendship [Source: @sanjaymanjrekar/X.com]

Vinod Kambli, the enigmatic cricketer, known for his explosive batting and equally explosive temperament, has been a fascinating figure in Indian cricket. His friendship with Sachin Tendulkar, from their early days, has been well-documented. However, behind the scenes, their relationship has had its share of ups and downs.

After a recent reunion at their coach Ramakant Achrekar's memorial, Sachin and Kambli have once again come into the limelight. Kambli has been in poor health lately, which was evident in a video recorded during the memorial gathering. Nevertheless, the reunion sparked an anecdote shared by Sanjay Manjrekar a few years back with Sportskeeda that highlights the playful yet tense dynamic among the three.

Manjrekar Reveals Kambli's Quirky Nature From 1992 World Cup Days

Sanjay Manjrekar recalled that Kambli, was frustrated at not being included in the initial matches of the 1992 World Cup. Despite not playing, Kambli would criticize Manjrekar and Tendulkar for their performances, even going so far as to criticize Sachin Tendulkar's shot selection against ordinary bowlers. 

"'What is this batting? You could have played faster'. He didn't even spare Sachin," Manjrekar recalled.

Being the constant critic of his teammates' performances, even after a successful chase against Zimbabwe, where Tendulkar and Manjrekar had formed a match-winning partnership, Kambli found fault.

"It was a small target and we won the match. Despite that, in the evening, Kambli would again go like ‘The match and all is fine; but we could have won it a lot earlier. He told Sachin, ‘John Traicos is such an ordinary bowler. You could have hit him out of the ground; you were taking singles’. Sachin said ‘Our target was to win the match’. But Vinod did not learn. If there is one person who could upset Sachin, that is Vinod Kambli." Manjrekar added.

Kambli eventually got his chance to play in the high-pressure match against Pakistan. However, his performance didn't live up to the expectations he had set for his teammates. After the match, Manjrekar and Tendulkar couldn't resist teasing him.

"After the match, we took him aside. We asked, ‘What happened? You hit such big sixes in the nets. Why didn’t you do it in the game?’ He simply replied, ‘They were bowling very tight.’ That was his explanation. So yeah, he was quite the character," Manjrekar concluded.

Although Kambli has previously accused Sachin of not supporting him during difficult times, their friendship remains strong, as was seen at the memorial reunion. Manjrekar's revelation only provided further insights into the often-unspoken dynamics of their relationship.