A file photo of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli.
© AFP
Best memories are always with school friends. Sachin Tendulkar also believes it. The Indian cricket legend has posted a photograph in his personal Instagram account and, you guessed it right, the frame has chum Vinod Kambli in it. Sweet memories always get the better of not-so-sweet present.
In recent years, Tendulkar's relationship with Kambli has not been in the best of health. Kambli's life has been dogged by controversies and with his cricket career going astray after 2000, the former Indian batting star blamed Tendulkar for his miseries. Tendulkar has always kept safe distance from his troubled friend.
Tendulkar and Kambli first made international headlines with their mammoth 664-run unbeaten stand for Shardashram Vidya Mandir against St. Xavier's in Harris Shield on February 24, 1988. It was the highest partnership for any wicket in any class of cricket in a tournament organised by the Mumbai School Sports Association.
Kambli played 17 Tests and 104 ODIs for India between 1991 and 2000. A man who slammed back-to-back double centuries in Tests against England and Zimbabwe in 1993, slipped into oblivion apparently due to an undisciplined lifestyle. He later blamed Tendulkar for not helping him during his troubled times.
Kambli again criticised Tendulkar for not mentioning him during his retirement speech in November 2013. Tendulkar, in a rare comment about his childhood friend, had said that both of them were different individuals with distinct lifestyles .
"I wouldn't want to talk about talent, because that's not for me to judge," Tendulkar told The Daily Telegraph when asked about Kambli.
Talking more about his Mumbai mate, Tendulkar said: "But if we have to talk about differences, then I would say that his lifestyle was different. We were both individuals with different natures, and we responded differently to various situations. In my case, my family was always there to keep an eye and keep me grounded at all times. I can't speak for Vinod ."
Kambli made as many as nine comebacks into the ODI team, which he was part of last in 2000. He played his last Test in 1995 when he was just 23.
With age, people forget differences and revive fond memories. The Instagram photograph may just bring the bosom pals - Tendulkar and Kambli - back to where they had belonged.
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