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

C.K. Nayudu captained India in its first official Test match, against England at Lord’s in June 1932. He played seven Tests in all and led the side in the first four, was the first cricketer to receive the Padma Bhushan in 1956, and kept playing first-class cricket until he was 68. Before India had a place at cricket’s top table, it had Nayudu.

The first captain

Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, universally known as C.K., was a right-hand batsman and off-break bowler born in Nagpur on 31 October 1895. He captained India in its inaugural Test at Lord’s in 1932, and in the three that followed against England in 1933-34. He did not lead the 1936 tour of England: the captaincy went to the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram, who obtained it through lobbying rather than cricket, and Nayudu played that series under him.

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.

India lost that first Test by 158 runs inside three days, though the margin hides how close the opening morning came to a shock: England were 19 for 3 with Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh bowling, before the innings steadied. For a team playing its first match at the sport’s headquarters, it was a statement.

The innings that made him

Nayudu’s fame predates the Test team by six years, and it rests on one afternoon. In December 1926, playing for the Hindus against Arthur Gilligan’s touring MCC side at the Bombay Gymkhana, he scored 153 in 116 minutes, reaching his century in 65. The innings contained 11 sixes, a world record for a first-class innings at the time, several of them landing in the tents surrounding the ground.

The MCC presented him with a silver bat for it. More importantly, an Indian batter had just taken apart an English touring side in front of an Indian crowd, and the argument that India belonged in Test cricket suddenly had evidence behind it. India was admitted six years later.

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 Indore on 14 November 1967, aged 72, 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.