The life of Vinod Ganpat Kambli exemplifies a strange combination of poverty, neglect, and lack of respect and love, besides the indomitable spirit to excel. Vinod is a former Indian cricketer who unfortunately had to face tragic circumstances in his life despite possessing extraordinary cricketing talents that could have earned him a place among the greatest cricketers in history. The reasons for Vinod’s downfall could be both personal and familial, as well as social and political.

Whatever the reasons, sadly, his greatest potentials were not properly channelled, nor his exceptional talents utilised properly, resulting in his tragic decline.
Otherwise, he was someone who could have emerged as a cricket legend. Sunil Gavaskar was a great admirer of Vinod’s talents, and so was Ravi Shastri. Ravi would often share stories about Vinod and his potential for the game. Having such a wonderful track record, and upon the recommendations from Sunil and Ravi, I signed Vinod for Spen Victoria team to play for the 1991 season, where I was the captain of the team. When Vinod joined Spen Victoria, he was just 19 years old, with a frail and skinny composure.