SK Flashback: Remembering the life and times of Vijay Hazare on his birthday

Indian cricket’s ambassador during the World War II

Khokhan Sen, Pranab Roy And Vijay Hazare during a reception prior to the tour of England

At the time when the World War II sent a shock wave throughout the globe and was the major driving force for the cancellation of cricket tournaments across the globe, Indian cricket was surviving and contested all domestic tournaments, unfazed by the effect of the World War.

This was primarily due to the massive efforts which were taken by Vijay Hazare and his team-mate Vijay Merchant, whose combined effort and class spread across to the whole of India. Playing mainly at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the two men exhibited great skill that brought large crowds to the stadium and kept Indian cricket in focus.

In addition to amassing runs at free will, Hazare’s best domestic performance came in the 1943/44 season when he tore bowling attacks apart with immense aplomb and displayed inhuman batting prowess, racking up two double hundreds, one triple hundred and one hundred to cap off a remarkable domestic season.