Vijay Merchant
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
12 October 1911 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India |
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| Died | 27 October 1987 (aged 76) Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling style | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut | 15 December 1933 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 2 November 1951 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1929–1951 | Bombay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Cricinfo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant 
pronunciation , real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey (12 October 1911 – 27 October 1987) was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Bombay cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951. Behind his limited Test appearances, he dominated Indian domestic cricket – his batting average of 71.64 is the second highest first class average in history, behind only that of Don Bradman. He is regarded as the founder of the Bombay School of Batsmanship, that placed more importance on right technique, steely temperament, and conservative approach rather than free flow of the bat, a tradition broken and remoulded only after the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar.
His international career included two tours of England upon which he scored over 800 runs. English cricketer CB Fry exclaimed "Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener." His brother, Uday, also played first-class cricket.
Besides cricket, he was also associated with the Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills (Thakersey Group)
Merchant was born in Bombay, into a wealthy family in 1911. He was an "outstanding college cricketer" who captained Sydenham College, Bombay while studying there; his success for Sydenham led to selection for Hindus cricket team during the 1929 Bombay Quadrangular. He also continued to play for Sydenham and in 1931 he set the record in Bombay inter-collegiate cricket by scoring 504 runs and taking 29 wickets. His continued success in domestic cricket resulted in the call to the Indian cricket team to play against the visiting English team at Bombay Gymkhana, which was also the first Test to be played on Indian soil. Throughout his career, Merchant was involved in a rivalry with the other great Indian batsman of the era, Vijay Hazare. In the Bombay Pentangular match against the Rest, he bested Hazare's record of 242, set just in the previous match against the Muslims, with 250 not out. Hazare responded with a 309 out of a team total of 387 in the next innings, in what is generally held the greatest innings ever played in India before 1947. Merchant topped it by scoring 359 against Maharashtra in Ranji trophy.
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