5 enviable records that little known Indian cricketers hold

4. Raja Maharaj Singh – Oldest to play First Class cricket and Oldest Debutant in First Class cricket

Apart from the many records he had, Jim Laker also could claim to having dismissed the oldest player to play First Class

Royalty does have its perks and Raja Maharaj Singh surely liked enjoying a few. And in process, he went on to create one of those records that look unbeatable in times to come. Made the Governor of the hub of cricket in India post independence, Maharaj Singh pulled a few strings to fulfill a childhood wish of playing cricket against an opposition of highest quality. So, when Commonwealth XI toured India and Ceylon in 1950-51, Maharaja Singh jumped on the opportunity to lead the Bombay Governor’s XI against them. The record bit comes from the fact that he was 72 years of age when he pulled off this trick.

So, Raja Maharaj Singh holds not one but two records – the oldest debutant in First Class cricket as well as the oldest cricketer to play First Class cricket. Batting at no. 9, he was scalped for 4 by someone who would go on to take 10 wickets in a Test inning some years down the line – Jim Laker. He was listed absent ill in the second innings, probably with the realization that youth had passed some 50 years ago.