Ex-India batsman Vinod Kambli stable after suspected heart attack

Vinod Kambli, the former India batsman once considered as gifted as his school friend Sachin Tendulkar, was recovering in a Mumbai hospital on Saturday after a suspected heart attack, doctors and his family said.

Kambli, 41, who had undergone angioplasty on two blocked arteries last year, was admitted to the Lilavati hospital on Friday morning after complaining of chest pain while driving.

"He is in the intensive care unit and we are monitoring his medical parameters," hospital director Narendra Trivedi told reporters. "He is stable and there is nothing to worry about."

Kambli's wife, Andrea, also issued a statement saying he was "stable and recovering well".

Kambli shot to fame along with Tendulkar in 1988 when the two teenagers shared a then world record 664-run partnership in an inter-school match in Mumbai, with both batsmen making unbeaten triple centuries.

While Tendulkar retired earlier this month as the world's leading run-maker in both Test and one-day cricket and an unprecedented 100 international centuries against his name, Kambli faded after a bright start.

The flamboyant left-hander hit two double-centuries and two hundreds in his first eight Test innings after earning a debut in 1993, but another three-figure knock in Tests eluded him.

Kambli played the last of his 17 Tests in 1995 before he had turned 24, finishing with 1,084 runs at an average of 54.20.

He also scored 2,477 runs in 104 one-day internationals with two centuries.