After vehemently denying that he accused childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar of not helping him enough, former India batsman Vinod Kambli on Friday found himself on a sticky wicket after visuals showed that he had indeed made the remarks.
Brief video footage of the programme Sach Ka Samna beamed on Times Now channel showed a pensive Kambli admitting that Tendulkar had not helped him enough.
When the anchor of the show specifically asked Kambli whether Tendulkar could have done more to save him from his self-destructive habits, Kambli said, "I think, yes. If I had got a little more motivation when I was self-destructing myself, my career could have been prolonged," the visual shows Kambli as saying.
The former cricketer had earlier denied having accused Tendulkar of not helping him enough and said such reports left him and his family shattered.
Kambli, who studied with Tendulkar ar 'Shardashram' school, said he had never spoken anything against Tendulkar in the reality TV show and termed the report "completely baseless".
"I have never said anything against Tendulkar. He is my friend for 26 years; people should know that I will never say such a thing against my friend. He is currently in London and I will meet him soon," Kambli had told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Kambli also told the channel on Friday that he had spoken to Tendulkar and the two "laughed off" the matter.
"I have spoken to him briefly and we just laughed off the comments made in the show," he said.