Vasant Naisadrai Raiji (26 January 1920 – 13 June 2020) was an Indian

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er and cricket historian. He featured in nine first class matches between 1939 and 1950.

Life and career

Raiji was born in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. Representing a

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigiou ...

team on his first-class debut in a festival match in 1939, he scored a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

in the first innings and just a single run in the second. In 1941-42 he opened the batting for

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in the Ranji Trophy, and was a reserve for the Hindus team in the 1941 Bombay Pentangular. He then moved to play for

, and his two highest scores came in Baroda's victory over Maharashtra in the 1944-45 Ranji Trophy, when he made 68 and 53. His younger brother Madan also played first-class cricket for Bombay in the 1940s. At the end of Raiji's playing career, he turned to writing, and wrote several important works on early Indian cricket. He was an accountant by profession and authored two books on the subject. In the 1930s he was one of the founding members of the Jolly Cricket Club in

along with his friend

Anandji Dossa Anandji Jamnadas Dossa (September 15, 1916 – September 22, 2014) was an Indian cricket statistician. He represented his school and Wilson college in inter-school and inter-collegiate cricket while growing up in Bombay. He was an opening batsma ...

, who was a renowned cricket statistician. Towards the end of his life he lived in the

Walkeshwar Walkeshwar (Pronunciation: �aːɭkeʃʋəɾ is an affluent area in South Mumbai, India, at the north-western end of the Marine Drive loop. It has a large Gujarati population. It is mostly known for Walkeshwar Temple, Banganga Tank and Jain t ...

area of

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...

. On the death of B. K. Garudachar in February 2016 he became India's oldest first-class cricketer. He celebrated his 100th birthday in January 2020, attended by

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Austral ...

Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ ; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the grea ...

and

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

. On 7 March 2020, he became the oldest living first-class cricketer following the death of John Manners. He died on 13 June 2020, aged 100, survived by his wife and their two daughters.

Books

* ''

Ranji Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Ma ...

: The Legend and the Man'' (1963) * '' Duleep: The Man and His Game'' (co-edited; 1963) * ''

Victor Trumper Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...

: The Beau Ideal of a Cricketer'' (edited; 1964) * ''Ranji: A Centenary Album'' (edited; 1972) * '' L. P. Jai: Memories of a Great Batsman'' (edited; 1976) * ''The Romance of the Ranji Trophy'' (1984) * ''India's Hambledon Men'' (1986) * ''CCI and the

Brabourne Stadium The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in Mumbai in Western India, built in the British Bombay era. It was the home ground of the Mumbai men's and women's cricket teams. It can accommodate 50,000 people for sports matches. The ground is owne ...

, 1937-1987'' (with

; 1987) * ''

C. K. Nayudu Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (31 October 1895 – 14 November 1967), also known as CK, was the first captain of the Indian cricket team in Test cricket, Test matches. He played first-class cricket regularly until 1958, and returned for one ...

: The Shahenshah of Indian Cricket'' (1989) * ''Duleep: A Centenary Tribute'' (edited; 2005) * ''From Presidency to Pentangular'' (with Mohandas Menon; 2006) * ''Cricket Memories: Men and Matches of Bygone Days'' (2010)

References

External links

*
Vasant Raiji CricketArchive page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raiji, Vasant 1920 births 2020 deaths Cricket historians and writers Baroda cricketers Mumbai cricketers Indian cricketers Indian centenarians Men centenarians

Life and career

Books

See also

References

External links