'Their friendship is still very strong. Sachin calls and checks on him.'
For those who grew up with Indian cricket in the early 1990s, the names Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli were inseparable.
Childhood friends who once lit up Mumbai's maidans together, they carried the nation's hopes as the next big duo of Indian cricket.
Decades later, even as life charted very different paths, their bond remains unbroken-- especially as Kambli now battles ill health.
Kambli's younger brother Virendra recently revealed how Sachin continues to stand by his earliest cricketing companion.
'Sachin dada has always supported Vinod. Their friendship is still very strong. Sachin calls and checks on him with Andrea (Hewitt, Vinod's wife),' Virendra told Vickey Lalwani in a podcast.
It was this bond that once produced one of Indian cricket's historic moments -- a mammoth 664 run stand in school cricket.
Tendulkar would make his India debut a couple of years before Kambli, converting his immense talent into all-time greatness.
Kambli, though blessed with extraordinary ability, never quite fulfilled his early promise.
'He was closest to him. I don’t know about others, but I saw them together when I went to watch Ranji Trophy matches. I would go to the dressing room to eat, and Sachin dada, Vinod, and I would sit together and have fun. We would joke around and have a good time,' Virendra recalled.
Virendra also offered a hopeful update on his elder brother's condition. A few months ago, Kambli had to be hospitalised after a blood clot was detected in his brain, but he is now showing signs of improvement.
'He is at home right now. He is getting stable, but his treatment is on. He is having difficulty speaking. It will take him time to recover. But he is a champion, and he will come back,' Virendra said with optimism.
'He will start walking and running, hopefully. I have a lot of faith in him. I hope you can see him back on the ground.'
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