Updated
Mumbai, Nov 29 (PTI): Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli was in all sorts of trouble before being rushed to a hospital, apparently after suffering a heart attack, and said "please take me to hospital, otherwise I will die", according to a Mumbai Traffic Police officer.
Famous for his world-record 664-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar in a school match in 1988, Kambli has been admitted to the cardiac ICU of the Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra, and is undergoing treatment, hospital sources said.
The 41-year-old was spotted in distress while driving at a busy road at Sion, central Mumbai this morning. He was immediately taken to the Lilavati Hospital by a team of traffic police, headed by Sujata Patil, Senior Inspector posted in Matunga.
Patil said at about 9.30 am she received a phone call from her colleague Kumar Datta Shedage, a constable, who said Kambli was feeling uneasy.
The ex-cricketer was behind the wheels of his Pajero and driving from suburban Chembur to Bandra, where he resides.
"The constable handed over the mobile phone to a weeping Kambli, who told me 'please take me to a hospital, otherwise I will die'. He was not feeling well," Patil stated adding "Kambli was alone in the vehicle".
"Without wasting time, I reached near the vehicle and arranged a private driver, who drove the Pajero to the hospital while Kambli was seated in the rear seat with the constable," said Patil.
"We escorted the vehicle till Lilavati Hospital in just 11 minutes from Sion," she explained. Usually it takes 30-40 minutes to reach the hospital from Sion in morning."
Patil had hit headlines in January this year when she wrote a controversial poem in a police journal using certain words to criticize protesters from a particular community, who had turned violent during a meeting at Azad Maidan in August 2012.
Earlier Report
Vinod Kambli suffers heart attack while driving
Mumbai, Nov 29 (NDTV): Former Indian Test batsman Vinod Kambli has been admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after suffering a heart attack. Kambli, who will turn 42 on January 18, has played 17 Tests and 104 ODIs for India. Kambli had undergone angioplasty on two of his blocked arteries in July 2012, but news of this operation was largely kept under wraps.
On Friday, Kambli was driving from Chembur to Bandra when he suffered the attack. He was taken to the hospital by a lady traffic officer.
Known for his flashy batting and flamboyant personality, Kambli has participated in TV shows and was recently in the news for his emotional outburst against Sachin Tendulkar, who retired from cricket on November 16. Kambli is famous for his world-record 664-run partnership with Tendulkar in a school match in 1988. Kambli said he felt hurt because Tendulkar didn't invite him during his farewell dinner after retirement.
Kambli, who once matched Don Bradman and Wally Hammond by hammering successive double Test centuries, has scored four centuries at an average of 54.20. Kambli's batting suited the limited-overs style and it was no surprise that he played 104 ODIs. He scored two ODI centuries and 14 fifties and averaged 32.59. His last Test match was against New Zealand in November 1995 while his last ODI was in Sharjah in October 2000.
Known for his colourful personality, Kambli dabbled in politics, too. In 2009, the left-handed batsman fought, and lost, from the Vikhroli (Mumbai) seat of the Maharashtra Assembly in 2009. He also took part in Bigg Boss the same year as a wildcard and was soon evicted after drawing a black with the audience.