C.K. Nayudu: India's First Test Cricket Captain

Before India had a place at cricket’s top table, it had C.K. Nayudu. When the country played its first official Test match in 1932, he was the man leading it out, and for a generation of Indians he was the face of a sport the nation was only beginning to call its own.

The first captain

Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, universally known as C.K., was a right-hand batsman and off-break bowler who captained India in its inaugural Test, against England at Lord’s in 1932. Leading a young cricketing nation onto the game’s most famous ground was no small thing, and Nayudu carried it with the authority that had already made him a household name at home.

His reputation was built on fearless, attacking batting and electric fielding. The great Mushtaq Ali fondly called him “a tiger on the field,” a nickname that captured the intensity he brought to every match.

A life beyond the crease

Nayudu was born in Nagpur on 31 October 1895 into a prominent family; his grandfather was a lawyer, landlord and an early member of the Indian National Congress. That standing opened doors, and in 1923 the ruler of Holkar invited him to Indore and gave him a commission in the state army, where he was later honoured as a Colonel.

He was also a pioneer of the commercial side of the game: he is often cited as the first Indian cricketer to endorse a brand, lending his name to a product in the 1940s at a time when sports endorsements were almost unheard of in the country.

Honours

Nayudu’s standing in Indian cricket is reflected in the honours attached to his name:

Honour	Detail
Padma Bhushan (1956)	First cricketer to receive the civilian award
C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award (2003)	The BCCI’s highest honour for a former player, named after him
First India Test captain (1932)	Led the country in its inaugural Test

Extraordinary longevity

What sets Nayudu apart even from other pioneers is how long he kept playing. He turned out in first-class cricket regularly until 1958 and then, astonishingly, returned one last time in 1963 at the age of 68. Few sportsmen in any era have competed at a serious level so late in life.

C.K. Nayudu died in 1967, but his imprint on Indian cricket never faded. Every time a new player receives the lifetime achievement award that bears his name, the country remembers the tiger on the field who led it into Test cricket.