Vinod Kambli "Never Cared About Money", Rejected Part-Time Job: Ex teammate's stunning revelation

Former India batter Vinod Kambli’s life has often been described as a tale of “riches to rags.” Once hailed as the future of Indian cricket, Kambli’s career faded due to an undisciplined lifestyle and poor health choices. In December last year, he was hospitalized at Akruti Hospital in Thane for a urinary infection and cramps, sparking public concern and financial support offers from prominent figures. Kambli, a close childhood friend of Sachin Tendulkar, represented India in 104 ODIs and 17 Tests, yet his talent never fully translated into a long international career.

Recently, a remarkable story about Kambli and Tendulkar surfaced from their early cricketing days in England, shared by Solly Adams—who helped arrange Sachin's Yorkshire contract in 1992. At the time, Kambli was already playing for a local club and had made quite a name for himself. In a conversation with The Indian Express, Adams revealed that Kambli once turned down a part-time job despite earning just £25 per match, citing his focus on playing Test cricket for India.

“One day we were sitting, 10 cricketers. All of them had part-time jobs except for Vinod and Sachin,” Adams said. “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: ‘I and Sachin 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.”

Kambli’s Bold Personality and Raw Talent Remembered

Adams added, “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.” His carefree attitude might have cost him stability, but it also underscored his singular focus on the game—at least during his early years.

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Kambli's other friend, Nasa Hussain, also spoke about his incredible batting talent. “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,” he said. “He just ran down the track and hit 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.”