A few weeks ago, the video of a frail Vinod Kambli went viral as he was meeting cricket great and his long-time fried Sachin Tendulkar during the inauguration of the memorial of their coach Ramakant Achrekar. A few days later, Kambli was admitted to hospital due to a health emergency. Former players like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev raised their concerns. Though Kambli has been discharged, he continues to remain weak as was evident from a video of a function in Mumbai.
Some of Mumbai’s cricketing heroes, including legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar and former player Vinod Kambli, were on Sunday felicitated by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) at the opening event of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Wankhede Stadium. In that ceremony, the way Kambli walked towards the stage showed how frail he still is. He even met Gavaskar and touched his feet.
Kambli, who was recently discharged from a local hospital after being admitted to the ICU on December 21 due to health complications, was also present on the occasion. He was seen being escorted around as he is still on the recovery path.
Good to See The Great vinod Kambli walking in his Feet #50YearsWankhede#Vinodkambli pic.twitter.com/ckqsFRSkoa
— kumar (@KumarlLamani) January 13, 2025
After his felicitation, Kambli spoke about his playing days at the iconic venue.
“I remember I smashed my first double hundred here against England and then went on to score many more hundreds in my career,” he said.
“If anyone wants to play for India like me or Sachin (Tendulkar), then I would advise that you should keep working hard and never leave doing that because that’s what Sachin and me did since our childhood days.” Speaking on the occasion, MCA President Naik said, “Wankhede Stadium’s 50th anniversary is a special occasion for us. Today was the start of the grand celebration.
“Our main goal behind this week-long event is to inform the next generation about Mumbai’s cricket history and contributions of men’s and women’s players who played for Mumbai and inspire the young generation to take forward this legacy.”
As part of the week-long celebrations, two exciting cricket matches involving teams from MCA, SJAM, Consul Generals and IAS Officers were held.
Legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Dilip Vengsarkar will also be part of the grand celebrations.
The other stalwarts who are expected to join the celebrations are former India skippers Ravi Shastri, Ajinkya Rahane, current T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and former national women’s team captain Diana Edulji.
The main event will also feature Mumbai’s legendary men’s and women’s players from domestic and international cricket.
With PTI inputs
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