Vinod Kambli exploded into Indian cricket in the early 1990s, making a sensational debut in Test cricket. He scored his Test fifty against England in Chennai in just his second Test and followed it up with back-to-back double hundreds in Test cricket – 224 and 227 – against England and Zimbabwe in his third and fourth to send his average sky-rocketing.
In his first 7 Tests, Kambli had already notched up 4 hundreds (including two doubles) and all in 1993. His personal life also zoomed off at the same pace.
The Mumbai southpaw met and fell in love with a hotel receptionist Noella Lewis and got married at the St Patrick’s Church in Pune in May 1994. Noella was a beautiful Christian girl but their marriage went downhill just like Kambli’s international cricket career.
After a flying start in hi Test career, Kambli was thoroughly exposed by New Zealand and West Indies pace bowlers. In a one-off Test in Hamilton, Kambli scored just 9 and 19 and back home in India, against the Windies pace attack he had a string of low scores and soon it was curtains for his Test career in 1995 – just a year after his marriage
What were reasons for breakup with Noella Lewis?
The exact reasons for breakup of Kambli’s marriage with Noella Lewis are still not clear. It is believed that Kambli’s addiction of alcohol soon after his first wedding and the downslide of his cricket career are possible reasons for end of their marriage.
Kambli had met Noella through an office acquaintance at Pune’s Blue Diamond hotel where she worked as a receptionist. According to rumour mills, it was also heard that Kambli was possibly involved with a lot of women after his marriage to Noella as well.
The couple soon went their separate ways around five years after their marriage.
How did Vinod Kambli meet second wife Andrea Hewitt?
After the end of his marriage to Noella, Kambli got involved with famous model Andrea Hewitt, who incidentally was also a Christian. They started dating around 2000 and after a courtship period of around six years, got married in 2006.
Kambli was truly in love in Andrea and even converted to Christianity on the insistence of his wife Andrea. In 2010, their son Jesus Christiano was born followed by their daughter Johana Christiana in 2014.
After a quiet court marriage, Kambli and Andrea renewed their vows at the St Peter’s Church in Bandra in 2014.
Domestic violence charges in 2023
Just like his first marriage, Kambli’s second marriage to Andrea also began to unravel because of his addiction to alcohol. In February 2023, Andrea filed a police report accusing Kambli of domestic violence, alleging that during a heated argument, the former India cricketer threw a cooking pan at her, resulting in a severe head injury.
Kambli recently met his close friend Sachin Tendulkar after a long time in Mumbai during their former coach Ramakant Achrekar’s birth anniversary celebration. The Mumbai southpaw looked very frail and weak, which made fans very emotional.
