Vinod Kambli breaks up with Sachin
One of Indian cricket’s most
enduring friendships has developed cracks. Vinod Kambli blew the lid on his
friendship with Sachin Tendulkar on a TV show that
goes on air this week.
‘‘We are very close... we were very close. He could have done a little more,
but he didn’t,’’ he said in reply to a query on his friendship with Tendulkar
during a polygraph (lie detector) test which is part of the show.
The Mumbai southpaw replied in the affirmative when he was asked whether Sachin
is embarrassed to accept him as a friend now.
Kambli, 37, who is yet to retire from cricket, also took a massive swipe at the
BCCI. ‘‘I always felt discriminated because of my caste and colour by the cricket
board,’’ Interestingly, all these revelations came during a polygraph test,
which every contestant is subjected to. The format of the show is such that the
same questions are asked by an anchor in front of a select audience. If the
answers don’t match, the contestant is disqualified.
Kambli last featured in a Test in 1995 (India vs New Zealand at Cuttack) when
he was just 23. The maverick Mumbai left-hander’s ODI career, which included
nine comebacks, lasted longer as he played his last match in 2000 at Sharjah.
Manoj ‘Muntashir’, writer of the show which is titled ‘Sach Ka Saamna’, refused
to confirm Kambli’s revelations. ‘‘You are talking as if you’ve watched the
episode,’’ he said when contacted. ‘‘The whole world knows about Kambli and
Tendulkar’s friendship. Questions about their friendship are bound to be
featured.’’
|