Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli embraced Christianity on Wednesday. The left-hand batsman was baptized at the St Peter’s Church, Bandra, and became the latest prominent sports personality to change his religion.
Mohammad Yousuf was the last international cricketer to have a religion change, when the Pakistan batsman converted to Islam from Christianity.
Fr Francis Juan, assistant Parish priest, was the celebrant at the baptism, communion and confirmation ceremony. Kambli, dressed in blue jeans and white shirt, arrived with wife Andrea Hewitt who had her two-month old baby in her arms, at the church at 6.30 pm and the ceremony lasted half an hour.
The 38-year-old Kambli is also known to be trying to make a comeback in cricket. For the last couple of months, he is doing regular gym sessions and batting in the nets at Mumbai Cricket Association’s Indoor facilities at the Bandra Kurla Complex.
“This season, he’s regularly coming for training. He’s served Mumbai for so long and when he requested we have tried to adjust his practice session without disturbing our schedule. He does about one and half hour of gym session and bats for an hour in the nets, mostly against the bowling machine,” Chandrakant Pandit, Kambli’s former Mumbai coach and MCA Academy’s director of cricket, told DNA.
“He’s batted against the bowlers only twice, playing against the spinners. It has to be said that he looks very serious. He’s had a big gap and it’s not easy. The challenge is to get his rhythm back. There’s no doubt about his
talent,” said Pandit.
It is learnt that Kambli is planning to start with local cricket, and might play the last two rounds of the Kanga League. “If he is determined to make a comeback, he will have to play each and every game and not a select few,” said Pandit adding, “he would have been in big demand in the Indian Premier League, if he had continued.”
Kambli has not played first-class cricket since 2004-05 season.
