He was considered India's finest opening batsman till the advent of Sunil Gavaskar in the early 70s. Although injury and World War II limited his Test appearances to only 10 from 1933 to 1951, he finished with the creditable average of 47.72 including three centuries. He was a prolific scorer in domestic cricket and had the amazing first-class average of 71.64, second only to the peerless Bradman's.

Vijay Merchant batting against England at The Oval in 1946