Vasant Raiji: India's Oldest Living First-Class Cricketer Turns 100

While many current batsmen go on piling centuries every other day in all the formats of the game, Vasant Raiji completed a real-life century on India’s 71st Republic Day – 26th January 2020. Raiji became the oldest living first-class cricketer on Sunday, having completed 100 years of age.

In his playing days, Raiji was a right-handed batsman, who played for Mumbai and Baroda respectively. He featured in nine first-class matches in the 1940s, mustering 277 runs with 68 being his top score. When India took the field to play their first Test match at home, he was 13 years and has witnessed the entire journey of Indian cricket so far.

Despite becoming a chartered accountant, Raiji’s passion and love for cricket never diminished.

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In the 1930s, Raiji was one of the founding members of the Jolly Cricket Club (JCC) along with the late Anandji Dossa, who was a prominent statistician in the last century.

India’s First-Class Cricketer Vasant Raiji turns 100:

Some of the famous names like Bapu Nadkarni, Eknath Solkar, Ashok Mankad, and Yajuvendra Singh played for Jolly. He also expressed his love for the game by writing books on the sport. He wrote about players like Victor Trumper, CK Nayudu, Duleepsinhji, and his own idol LP Jai.

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Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh wish Vasant Raiji very happy birthday:

Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to wish Raiji. Tendulkar and Steve Waugh paid a visit to him. Currently, Raiji resides in the posh Walkeshwar area in South Mumbai.

The leading run-getter in ODI and Test cricket Tendulkar posted a heartwarming message on his Twitter handle.

“Wishing you a very special 100th birthday, Shri Vasant Raiji. 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,” Tendulkar wrote.

Wishing you a very special 1⃣0⃣0⃣th birthday, Shri Vasant Raiji.

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

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 26, 2020