'Sachin and I will make money playing Test cricket': Vinod Kambli's Yorkshire friends recall his early days

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Vinod Kambli's Yorkshire friends recalled his early days in England, where he had been called to play cricket for a local club. At the same time, Sachin Tendulkar was making history by becoming the first overseas player to play for Yorkshire. read more
Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli has been in the headlines over the past couple of years due to his poor health. But before Kambli went off track and into isolation, he was considered the next big thing in Indian cricket alongside his childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar .
In the early 1990s, both Kambli and Tendulkar were playing cricket in the United Kingdom. While Tendulkar was making history as the first overseas player to join Yorkshire, Kambli was competing in the club leagues of the same region. Many in Yorkshire still remember the young left-hander who played with style and confidence.
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'Sachin and I will make money playing Test cricket'
Solly Adam, who helped many South Asian players travel to England to pursue cricket, recently recalled an incident involving Kambli. He was also Kambli's captain and host during his time at Spen Victoria Cricket Club. Adam had also played a key role in helping Tendulkar become the first overseas player to represent Yorkshire.
'One day we were sitting, 10 cricketers. All of them had part-time jobs except for Vinod and Sachin. So a cricketer from Mumbai asked Vinod – 'Since you only earn 25 pound a match, why don't you work at one of Solly's places? Kambli didn't think for a minute, pat came his reply: 'Sachin and I will make money playing Test cricket, I don't want to divert my attention doing part-time jobs.' That was exceptional, what confidence. He was very young, far from being a Test batsman but he had the confidence,' Solly told The Indian Express.
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Nasa Hussain, who now works as the head groundsman at Bradford's Park Avenue ground, also recalled his meeting with Kambli and how the Mumbai cricketer impressed him off his first ball.
'As a South Asian, Sachin joining Yorkshire was big news. I'll tell you what was better, he brought along with him his friend Vinod Kambli, who played in our league. I've never-ever met a person who hits the ball as hard as he used to,' Nasa told The Indian Express.
'He just runs down the track and hits the first ball for six, and you think, 'well okay'. Young man from India, never seen before, never heard of before, and he just comes and smashes it. Subsequently, he went on to score two double-hundreds against England. That was some talent. In today's day and age, that guy would have been a multi-millionaire,' he added.
Kambli had a brilliant first season and earned a bonus of £700. Solly travelled to Mumbai and handed the money to Kambli's father, who said he had never seen that much money in his life. But when Kambli returned home, he took all the money back and spent it with his friends.
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'However, Vinod, when he returned to India, took all the money from his father and spent it with his friends … Vinod never cared about money, nor did he have any respect for commodities,' Solly said.