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.
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.
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