Name Hindi: विजय मेहरा / Gender Man
Vijay Mehra: An Icon of Indian Cricket
Born on February 24, 1938, in Amritsar, India, Vijay Lachman Mehra was a well-known cricketer who successfully charmed the cricket arenas with his spectacular performances. He made history by being the youngest ever player to make it to the prestigious Indian team at just seventeen years and change.
Sporting Career Highlights
- Mehra made his test debut against New Zealand in Bombay (now Mumbai) on December 2nd, 1955.
- He played exceptionally well for Delhi and North Zone in domestic games in the late 1960s after playing modestly in tests earlier.
- In first-class cricket, he scored 11 centuries and approximately totalled up about 3596 runs.
- Vijay also participated actively during the Duleep trophy competitions that started from the season of 1961-62 onwards
Key Contributions to Indian Cricket
His finest contribution came when he hit two crucial innings of 68 and a brave unbeaten second-innings half-century against Pankaj Roy’s Indians’ tour game to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka – a prelude to their Test series against Pakistan beginning less than a week later.
An undeniable asset to the team, Mehra had an average nearing forty-five for Delhi. In India’s northern city Lucknow during the year 1959-60 while competing with Uttar Pradesh which includes Bapu Nadkarni; and CD Gopinath all part of Service & Railways Teams respectively. His impressive score of 230 not-out was indeed amomentous day for him.
Post Cricket Career
Mehra’s involvement with the cricket did not end when he retired as a player. He served India’s selection committee for 1981-82 during which Sunil Gavaskar was reinstated as captain and Mehra also officiated in first-class games.
Apart from his significant impact on the field, Vijay Mehra also owned a business that made substantial contributions to the sports industry by manufacturing cricketing equipment of superior quality.
Legacy
Vijay Mehra passed away on November 15th, 2006 leaving an indelible mark on Indian cricket. With his impressive skills to pioneering efforts within the sphere of domestic cricket, and selfless commitment towards the sports post-retirement —Vijay’s life and career serve as an inspiration for many budding cricketers even today.
