The Cricket Club of India (CCI) named one of its gates after the late Vijay Merchant, the former India and Mumbai batsman, on Thursday.
In an event attended by several prominent cricketers, including former England skipper Mike Gatting, former India captain Nari Contractor, CoA member Diana Edulji, the gate on Dinshaw Vaccha Road at Churchgate was named after Merchant, who was also a former president of the club. “Gates named after a cricketer is an enormous honour and Vijay Merchant was a wonderful player. I am sure, wherever he is, he would feel honoured about it,” Gatting said.
‘Remarkable’
Talking about the time when Merchant would play cricket in England, Gatting said: “For someone like Merchant, who played a lot of his cricket here, to go to the U.K. and play on uncovered wickets was remarkable. I have played on uncovered wickets and I know how difficult it can be. But there is a method to it. Merchant was a man who thought about it and was able to cope and adapt very quickly. Today, you have a Virat Kohli doing that in England.”
One of the most respected clubs of the country, the CCI had earlier named one of its gates after Rajsingh Dungarpur, former chairman of selectors.
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