“After every game, he used to criticize our batting” - When Sanjay Manjrekar shared a tale of how he and Sachin Tendulkar got back at Vinod Kambli

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, in a video narrative with Sportskeeda in November 2024, recalled an incident from the 1992 ODI World Cup when Vinod Kambli got the better of him and Sachin Tendulkar.

Manjrekar mentioned a phase in which Kambli used to criticise him and Tendulkar for their perceived failures with the bat after every game. Although he did not get a chance to be in the XI in the initial stages, Kambli used to berate the duo a lot.

"During the 1992 World Cup, after every game, Vinod Kambli used to criticise our batting although he was not playing in the initial stages. He used to come to Sachin Tendulkar and my room and berate us for not playing quickly, or not playing a particular shot to a particular bowler, and suchlike. After a game against Zimbabwe, which we won comfortably, Kambli again came to our room and started saying how the match could have been wrapped up sooner had we batted at a brisk pace," said Manjrekar.

You can see the video here:

Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli hailed from Mumbai

Since Manjrekar, Tendulkar and Kambli hailed from Mumbai, they shared a close bond. Notably, the latter two were childhood friends and teammates in school.

Manjrekar then revealed that after he finally got an opportunity to play against Pakistan in Sydney, Kambli batted with a lowly strike rate of 58.

"Eventually, Kambli got his opportunity in the game against Pakistan in Sydney. However, he scored 24 runs at a measly strike rate of 58. After he got out and came back to the pavilion, Sachin and I exchanged knowing looks with each other and decided to speak to him after the match. Our anger at him needling us throughout the tournament was bursting and we wanted to give it back to Kambli. After the match, when we asked him why he batted with such a low strike rate when he had berated us all tournament, all he had to say was, 'They were bowling very tight lines.' That's it. That was Vinod Kambli. He had an answer for everything. We didn't have anything else to say," added Manjrekar.

Tendulkar is likely be conferred with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI in its annual gala on Saturday, February 1, as per The Times of India.