India’s oldest living First Class cricketer and cricket historian Vasant Raiji turned 100 on Sunday.
Born on January 26 1920, Raiji did not have a stellar First Class cricketer career as he played just nine matches for Bombay and Baroda before taking up Chartered Accountancy as a profession. He scored a total of 277 runs at an average of 23 in these matches, with his highest score of 68 coming in Baroda’s winning cause against Maharashtra.
He became the oldest living cricketer in the country after the death of B K Garudachar in February 2016.
Raiji was 13 when India played its first Test at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai and has seen the entire journey of Indian Cricket, till date.
Despite looking after his family business, Raiji continued to pursue his love for the game and wrote books on CK Nayudu, Victor Trumper, Duleepsinhji, and LP Jai.
Wishing you a very special 1⃣0⃣0⃣th birthday, Shri Vasant Raiji.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 26, 2020
Steve & I had a wonderful time listening to some amazing cricket 🏏 stories about the past.
Thank you for passing on a treasure trove of memories about our beloved sport. pic.twitter.com/4zdoAcf8S3
Former India skipper Sachin Tendulkar and Australian captain Steve Waugh recently visited Raiji to discuss the history of the game in India and celebrate his 100th birthday.