Vinod Kambli begins second innings, to open a cricket academy at Bandra Kurla Complex

Mumbai, Jan 1: Vinod Kambli, former India cricketer, who was extremely popular for his batting style and drew a lot of attention in the cricket world, is going to start his second innings as a batting coach.

In association with Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Kambli is going to introduce a cricket academy at Bandra Kurla Complex from this week.

Kambli had donned India shirts in 17 Tests and in 104 one-day international matches. The stylish batsman was once termed more talented than the iconic Sachin Tendulkar!

He was the first Indian batsman to have struck a century in the limited-overs cricket on his birthday. The 45-year-old batsman is also one of the ardent students of Dronacharya coach Ramakant Achrekar along with Sachin Tendulkar.

The stylish left-handed batsman also created a sensation by hitting two consecutive double-centuries in Test cricket. His Test career came to an abrupt end despite a sparkling average of 54. Initially, Kambli was not considered apt for Test. Rather, he was given preference in the limited overs cricket.

While, speaking over the phone about his upcoming school, from Mumbai on Sunday said, “Yes, I am going to start my cricket school. I was eager to work as a coach for a long time. I am thankful to MCA for coming forward with this project.”

Once it was believed that Kambli would join an IPL team. There were rumours that he might even join Pakistan national team as its batting coach after Waqar Younis resigned from their head coach’s position. But Kambli seems to have a different thought.

He wants to produce batsman of international standards from his school and he also stressed on implementing his philosophy which he learnt from his teacher Ramakant Achrekar.

Kambli explained, “Ramakant Sir had a great contribution in producing batsmen like Sachin, Praveen (Amre) and me. He always used to instruct us to hard work. I will also follow his guidance. I will also try to teach the kids that there is no alternative way to succeed than doing hard work.”