Vasant Raiji, India's oldest living first-class cricketer, turned 100-years-old on Sunday, thereby scoring a century in real life too. A right-handed batsman, he played nine first-class matches in the ‘40s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest. Also, a historian, Raiji was 13 when India played its first Test at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai. He has seen the entire journey of Indian Cricket, till date. Raiji has played for both Bombay (now Mumbai) and Baroda.
Sachin Tendulkar, who recently met Raiji, along with former Australian captain Steve Waugh took to Twitter to write, "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."
Raiji has played with the likes of Lala Amarnath, Vijay Merchant, CK Nayadu and Vijay Hazare and has authored several books.
