Vijay Merchant – The Pioneer of Bombay School of Batsmanship
Vijay Merchant’s first-class batting average of 71.64 is second in the History of the game and only behind Sir Don Bradman. He played 150 first-class matches and scored 13470 runs including 45 centuries. He lost the golden days of international cricket due to World War II. Merchant played 10 Test matches and scored 859 runs with an average of 47.72. He played international cricket against England only and scored centuries in Manchester, The Oval and Delhi. Vijay Merchant was the oldest cricketer to score a century for India.
Embed from Getty ImagesBombay School of Batsmanship:
He is the pioneer of Bombay School of Batsmanship where they put a high price on wickets and provide significant value to correct technique, sound temperament and conservative approach to batting. Sunil Gavaskar also belongs to the same school of batting.
Preparation:
He was a firm believer in practice makes perfect. Before the series in England, he used to practice in the early morning at Bombay CCI’s wet pitch and made use of the condition to prepare against swing. Once he got hit by Stan Nichols during a match against MCC. Merchant practiced next one month until his technique against the short ball got improved.
Embed from Getty ImagesBradman was upset:
Merchant decided to skip the Australia tour of 1947-48 due to poor health, which upset Australian team including Sir Don Bradman. Bradman wrote, “Worst of all, we were denied the sight of Vijay Merchant, who must surely have claims to be the greatest of all Indian players.”
Vijay Merchant scored 11 double hundred in his first-class career. He will always be remembered as one of the most technically correct batsman India has ever produced.
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Featured Image Credit: Public Domain (resized as per the need and changed the background)