C. K. Nayudu

Family history C. K. Nayudu's ancestors belonged to Telugu-speaking people from Machilipatnam in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. Nayudu's great-grandfather moved from Machilipatnam to Hyderabad, where he worked as an interpreter to the Nizam of Hyderabad. Nayudu's grandfather, Cottari Narayanaswamy Nayudu settled in Nagpur. Narayanaswamy studied law there and became a well-known lawyer in the city. He was also a landlord and an early member of the Indian National Congress. Narayanaswamy was affluent enough to send both his sons to England for further studies. The younger son, Surya Prakash Rao Nayudu, C. K. Nayudu's father, studied law at Cambridge University, where he was a contemporary of Ranjitsinhji. Later, he came back to Nagpur and practiced there as a lawyer. After his return from England, he also brought the sport of cricket to the city. The Nayudus are considered as the pioneers of cricket in Nagpur. He was a Justice in High Court of Holkar State for some years. He had four sons and two daughters. He was drafted into the school team at the age of seven, and showed promise for a bright future. Nayudu captained his school and college at cricket. He also excelled in hockey and football. While still in high school, he became the captain of Modi Cricket Club. In his early playing days, he received coaching from R. Rajanna. Initially, Nayudu had been a defensive batsman. But, his father, Surya Prakash Rao, changed his outlook and encouraged him to attack more. == Career ==

Early career Nayudu made his first-class debut in 1916 in the Bombay Quadrangular. Playing for the Hindus against the Europeans, he came in to bat at No. 9 with his team tottering at 79 for 7. His first scoring shot was a six. But, he only managed 37 runs in the two innings – 27 in the first and 10 in the second. As a bowler, he picked up four wickets for 97 runs. His century came in just 65 minutes. The knock included 11 sixes which was a new world record in first-class cricket. Nayudu's innings paved way for India's elevation to Test status. Indian cricket at the time was financially patronised by princes and various people of royal background were lobbying for the captaincy. By this time, Nayudu was already considered a legend in Indian cricket. Two weeks before the tour, Maharaja of Patiala withdrew, being busy with his state affairs, and the Maharaja of Porbander was appointed as the captain. Maharaja of Porbander relinquished captaincy on the English tour and it was passed on to Prince of Limbdi, who was injured on the eve of the first Test. The captaincy was finally passed down to Nayudu. Cables were exchanged with officials in India and the Maharaja of Patiala ordered the players to accept Nayudu's captaincy. Thus, Nayudu became the first ever captain of the Indian national team in Test cricket. The Cricketer wrote of Nayudu's bowling as, "Nayudu is a clever bowler. Medium pace he flights the ball, can spin it from the off and sends down a faster delivery." He had a great run throughout the tour. He was the leading run-getter for India in the tour aggregating 1,618 runs, with five centuries, at an average of over 40. As a bowler, he took 65 wickets at an average of 25 runs per wicket and his best performance came when he took five wickets for 21 runs against Leicestershire. Nayudu scored 67, while Amarnath became the first Indian batsman to score a Test century with a knock of 118 runs. Nayudu was the captain of India in their first four Test matches, losing three and drawing one at Eden Gardens in 1934. Nayudu was also a part of the Indian team that toured England in 1936. However, the captaincy had passed to Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram who got the role through lobbying and manipulation. Nayudu played his last Test match in the tour. In that match, despite a painful blow from Gubby Allen, he scored 81 runshis highest score in Test cricket. He scored 1,102 runs at an average of over 26, and captured 51 wickets at an average of 31.78 runs per wicket in the tour. Wisden noted about his performance as, "So brilliant a success on his previous visit to England, C. K. Nayudu disappointed both himself and his friends." But, Nayudu bowled well, and took the largest number of wickets next only to Nissar. Later years Nayudu led Holkar to eight Ranji Trophy finals in nine years, out of which they won four. In 1944–45 season, the cricket board celebrated his 50th birth anniversary by organising a match between the Cricket Club of India and CK Nayudu's XI. Gul Mohammad and Denis Compton played for Nayudu's team in the match. His final outing was in a charity match in 1963–64. Aged 68, he played for the Maharashtra Governor's XI against the Maharashtra Chief Minister's XI. He played for various domestic teams in his career including Hindus, Madras, Hyderabad, Central India, Holkar, Andhra, Uttar Pradesh. He made over 12,000 runs in first class cricket. He holds the world record for the longest first-class career lasting over 47 years. His career-best innings was 200 in the Ranji Trophy, made at the age of 51. He made 2,567 runs with five centuries in the Ranji Trophy at an average of 36.67. He was also the highest run-scorer in the history of the Bombay Quadrangular tournament with 2,156 runs at an average of 45.87. Cricket Administrator Post-retirement, Nayudu served as the chairman of the national selection committee, vice-president of the BCCI, and as a radio commentator. He was instrumental in the formation of Andhra Cricket Association and was its founder president. Aged 58, C. K. Nayudu led the Andhra team in its first Ranji Trophy match against Mysore in the 1953–54 season. == Style and technique ==

Nayudu played in an era when hitting lofted shots was considered risky and transgressive. Nayudu taught himself to bear physical pain. In one Ranji Trophy match, he was struck on the mouth by a ball which broke two front teeth. He refused medical assistance, brushed the teeth off the wicket with his bat. He requested his rival captain, Mumbai's Madhav Mantri to instruct the bowler Dattu Phadkar to continue bowling fast. In the Oval Test of 1936, despite receiving a painful blow from Gubby Allen, he made a successful attempt to continue batting and hooked the next ball to the boundary. He scored 81 runshis highest score in Test cricket and denied England an innings victory. He was tough and expected others to have the same kind of toughness. == Personal life ==

, and C. L. Nayudu in Indore . All three brothers played competitive cricket.|177x177px|leftNayudu moved with his family from Nagpur to Indore after he was commissioned by the ruler of Holkar State, Tukojirao Holkar III, with the rank of a captain in his state's army. On off days between matches, he would regularly host his teammates at his house and would regale them with stories from his cricketing career. His daughter, Chandra Nayudu was India's first female cricket commentator. His grandson, Vijay Nayudu represented Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. His granddaughter Manjula Rao is an advocate and served as a special public prosecutor in the Best Bakery case. His younger brother, C. S. Nayudu also played Test cricket for India. His other younger brothers C. L. Nayudu and C. R. Nayudu were first-class cricketers. A few months before his 72nd birthday, Nayudu suffered a stroke. It left him unconscious and he was confined to a bed from then on till his death half-a-year later. He lost his speech during his last days and visitors were not allowed to meet him. D. B. Deodhar attributed Nayudu's death to his habit of chain-smoking. == Reputation and legacy ==

Nayudu is widely regarded as one of India's greatest cricketers. He was the first Indian cricketer to endorse a brand in 1941. His name was even used to promote movies. V. Shantaram's Duniya Na Mane (1937) featured Nayudu's name in hoardings to advertise the film. The Government of India awarded Nayudu Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour, in 1956. He was the first ever cricketer to be conferred the award. From the 1973–74 season, India's under-25 domestic tournament has been known as C. K. Nayudu Trophy. One of the banquet halls in Cricket Club of India, the C. K. Nayudu Hall is named after him. He was inducted into the Wisden India Hall of Fame in 2014. In Nayudu's birthplace Nagpur, a street has been named after him and a bronze bust with his likeness stands in the premises of the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground. Nehru Stadium in Indore sports a statue of Nayudu, outside its main entrance. One of its stands and a pavilion block in the same stadium were also named after him. Another statue was installed at the Holkar Stadium, Indore in 2023. On 4 April 2005, a bronze statue of Nayudu titled 'The Colossus of Cricket' was unveiled near the entrance of the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Cricket historian Ramachandra Guha called Nayudu 'the first great Indian cricketer'. In 2001, Guha included him in his All-Star Eleven team of great Indian cricketers with a countrywide popularity whose stardom persisted beyond retirement. Nayudu was also chosen as the captain of the team. Various other commentators have remarked on him as 'India's first cricket superstar', Commentator Ravi Chaturvedi wrote of him, "It was his lyrical style that made him one of the greatest players that the country has ever produced. He gave the game the grace of a ballet that was applauded by its spectators, who otherwise used to witness it as a combat." Vasant Raiji called Nayudu 'the Shahenshah of Indian Cricket' (). ==References==