Ex-India players Chandrakant Pandit and Lalchand Rajput turn back the clock to when they met the great Vijay Merchant for the first time
Future India players Chandrakant Pandit (left), Ravi Shastri and Lalchand Rajput (right) exchange notes with Vijay Merchant in 1980. Pic courtesy: Gopal Bhat
Former India cricketers Chandrakant Pandit and Lalchand Rajput were thrilled to recollect their first meeting with batting great Vijay Merchant prior to India U-20 team’s Sri Lanka tour in December 1980.
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Their recollections came to the fore when a weekly photo quiz was posted recently on Facebook. The quiz master asked his friends to identify the young cricketers with Merchant in the photograph, which also appears in this article. They were Pandit, Ravi Shastri and Rajput chatting with the golden great at a Mumbai Cricket Association-organised function at the Wankhede Stadium to felicitate the Sri Lanka-bound three Mumbai players—captain Shastri, batsmen Pandit and Rajput.
For Pandit, it was a moment to cherish, while Rajput called it a dream-come-true moment for him.
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Though these three were just U-19 players then, all three went on to become reputed coaches.
Shastri is guiding Team India, Rajput is head coach of the Zimbabwe national side, while Pandit has been a successful Ranji Trophy coach for Mumbai and Vidarbha.
“He [Merchant] was one of the great opening batsmen and meeting him was like a dream-come-true moment for me,” Rajput told mid-day.com from Harare on Sunday.
Pandit, who represented the country in five Tests and 36 ODIs, said: “Meeting the legendary Merchant was a totally different feeling. I heard a lot about him and suddenly we were standing in front of him, so it was a pleasant surprise for me. He gave us very good insights into cricket, which helped all of us during our cricketing journey. I still remember, he said, ‘You have talent and this is just an opening for you. You must keep learning this game.’ I will never forget that day.”
Rajput, who played two Tests, four ODIs and opened the innings with Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, recalled: “Merchant said, ‘You will be ambassadors of our country, so your behavior must be good. Just concentrate on the game and your next step should be to play in the Ranji Trophy.’ Those were real words of wisdom.”
Pandit recalled Merchant’s reply when he asked him what should be his approach in three-day matches.
“Merchant said, ‘I know you are an attacking batsman, so patience will be the key. You can play all your shots, but not initially. Take some time and try to understand the game’,” Pandit said.
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri recalled going over to the Cricket Club of India often to meet Merchant. “He was an institution by himself and was always encouraging. He put a lot of emphasis on discipline,” Shastri told mid-day.com.
Vijay Merchant passed away in 1987 during the World Cup.
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