Mumbai: Former India batter Vinod Kambli is “responding very well” to treatment in a Thane hospital after being admitted on Saturday in a critical condition due to severe urinary tract infection and electrolyte imbalance, according to the doctor treating him.
Kambli, 52, who has struggled with health issues for the past several years, appeared poorly when he recently attended the inauguration of the memorial to late Ramakant Achrekar at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park – the coach was instrumental in the rise of Sachin Tendulkar and Kambli as teenage batting prodigies. On Saturday, he was admitted in Aakruti Hospital in Thane by his well-wisher Sailesh Thakur, who is the director of the hospital.
“When he was admitted on Saturday, he was having massive cramps along with fever and dizziness,” Dr. Vivek Dwivedi, who is treating Kambli, told HT. “He was not able to sit, and was not able to walk. He was also drowsy at the time of admission.
“We did all the investigation and after that came to know that he was having a urinary tract infection along with electrolyte imbalance. Sodium was a bit on the lower side, potassium was on the lower side. That was the reason for the cramps. His BP was also on the lower side. We started him on antibiotics,” he said.
Dr Dwivedi said: “Now he is improving, doing well, but still he will need a few days of hospitalisation. He is still in ICU because he still requires BP monitoring, etc. We will shift him out of ICU either tomorrow or day after.”
Asked if Kambli’s condition was stable, he said: “At present he is stable, not entirely. His condition was a bit critical on Saturday, but he responded very well to the treatment. Now he is like stable.”
There were some media reports of brain clots, but Dr Dwivedi said: “We did a CT brain (scan) and he has old clots, not new clots. There was a previous history of stroke also.”
Kambli, who played 17 Tests and 104 ODIs between 1991 and 2000, has a history of battling with alcoholism. The doctor said his wife told them that he had “stopped alcohol”. “We also saw, if a patient is chronic, he will have withdrawal symptoms. But he is not having any of that.”
His 664-run partnership with Tendulkar in Mumbai’s Harris Shield school tournament in 1988 pitch-forked both into national attention. While Tendulkar made his Test debut as a 16-year-old in 1989 and kept rising in stature in the game, Kambli’s bright start in 1993 tapered off in the longest format after two years, amid discipline issues. He was part of the ODI side until 2000, although a serious ankle injury suffered while playing didn’t help his cause.
After Kambli’s appearance at the Shivaji Park ceremony, many former India stalwarts have expressed their willingness to help him.
