Agencies

India's oldest living first class cricketer Vasant Raiji, 100, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday morning.

Former first-class cricketer and historian Vasant Raiji who turned 100-years-old in January, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday morning. Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

Raiji, also a historian, was 13 when India played his first Test at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai and has seen the entire journey of Indian Cricket, till date.

Raiji made his first-class debut in 1939 for a Cricket Club of India (CCI) team, which played against the Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur. Though it didn't turn out to be a memorable outing for Raiji -- he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, followed by just one in the second innings -- that match inspired Raiji to take up the game seriously. He played for Bombay (now Mumbai) and Baroda. Raiji had shared the dressing room with the likes of Lala Amarnath, Vijay Merchant, CK Nayadu and Vijay Hazare.