Vinod Kambli faces brain stroke risk as Sachin Tendulkar joins support group to fund treatment
There is a grim update on Vinod Kambli. The former India left-hander, who turned 54 earlier this year, remains at high risk of a brain stroke according to his neurosurgeon Dr Aadil Chagla, and his old friends in the cricket community have stepped in to make sure money is not the reason his treatment stalls.
Kambli's long-time friend Marcus Couto has set up a WhatsApp group to coordinate financial and emotional support. Sachin Tendulkar, the teammate he shared that famous 664-run unbroken school stand with back in 1988, is on it. So are several former India cricketers who played alongside Kambli in the 1990s. The aim is simple: pool contributions so Kambli's medical bills are covered and his family is not left scrambling every time a new scan or consultation comes up.
A brain clot that cannot be removed
Kambli was hospitalised in Thane about 16 months ago, and scans at that point revealed a clot in his brain. Dr Chagla has said the clot cannot be safely removed through surgery, which means management has to be medical rather than operative. Smoking is out. Stress is out. Any lifestyle trigger that could push his blood pressure the wrong way is out.
The doctor has been blunt that one serious slip could bring on a stroke. That is the shadow Kambli and those around him are living under right now, and it is why the support group has moved from private concern to a properly organised effort.
Memory issues and a slow recovery
Those close to Kambli say his memory is unreliable. He will remember something clearly and then lose the thread of it a short while later, a symptom his doctors link directly to the clot. He uses a walking stick to get around. Public appearances have been rare, though friends point to a recent Dinshaw's ice-cream advert shot at Shivaji Park's Mahim Juvenile Cricket Ground as a small sign that he is still able to engage with the game and the community that shaped him.
His son Cristiano, reportedly, wants to be a cricketer. That detail has landed with particular force among Kambli's former teammates, many of whom watched the boy's father walk out to bat at the highest level and score two Test double hundreds before his career came apart.
Why the cricket community is rallying now
Kambli has had episodes of ill health before, and each time there has been an outpouring of sympathy followed by silence. The difference this time is the structure. A group with former India players in it, coordinated by a trusted family friend, is a different proposition to scattered messages of concern. It means contributions are tracked, treatment is followed, and Kambli's household has a line to call when things get difficult.
The BCCI runs a pension scheme for former players and has stepped in before on medical costs. Whether a formal request is made this time or not, the WhatsApp group is an acknowledgement that private support matters too, and that Kambli's peers are not waiting for an institutional move before acting.
For anyone who grew up watching that stand at Azad Maidan, or Kambli's blazing 224 against England at the Wankhede in 1993, this is a reminder of how quickly the story can turn. Right now the priority for his friends is simple: keep him well, and keep him here.
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