To copy
@blockerdave's words regarding a certain player he loves, "....but however good you think
he was, he was better. His entire first class career occurred when he was already in his mid-30s. Phenomenal player."
Now apply the same to
Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, or better known as
C.K. Nayudu who was India's first ever test captain. However, his very first test came when he was already 37. First-class cricket in India would not properly begin until he was into his forties. In a way, Nayudu was even more disadvantaged than Basil D'Oliveira ever was at the start of their respective first-class careers due to the fact that he was supposedly well past his physical peak when he was leading Holkar to nine Ranji Trophy finals, winning four of them (since then, the team has only made one final which was right after he retired and is now a poor team with the only notable international cricketer in this entire century being Naman Ojha). And yet, the most rigorous of disciplinary attitudes and a completely professional approach to the game of cricket meant that he played well into his forties, fifties and even into his sixties!
Nayudu's most famous moment came when he launched India to a test status, quite literally with a brutal assault on a touring MCC side that was more than decent with the likes of Maurice Tate playing for them. He struck 153 with 11 sixes in there with cricketers who were nowhere near as good as he was in his side. Awestruck spectators flocked to the stadium and building rooftops to witness this rare sight of an Indian player smashing the foreigners to all parts of the ground. But those who followed Nayudu's fledgling career knew that this was nothing new. Encouraged by his father who was a massive Ranjitsinhji fan to be an attacking batsman, Nayudu's fame and penchant for hitting sixes was well known throughout the country's cricketing circles. Tales such as
When he scored 120 for India against the Europeans in Madras in 1920, one strike cleared the boundary wall on the southern end of the Madras Cricket Club compound and landed near a coconut tree fifty yards beyond the ground. The hit was stated to be easily about 150 yards
were many and he had already made a mark on many a touring side that played versus an Indian side and any domestic team that were unfortunate to play against his side.
In the only international experiences he had, Nayudu was the team's top scorer in the 1932 tour with the highest average by far of any Indian and only the legendary pace duo of Amar Singh and Nissar took more wickets. One of his hits was so fierce that it cleared the river Rea, crossing from one county to another (Warwickshire to Worcestershire) in a blistering three hour innings that ended with 162! In 1936, Vijay Merchant was the only one who scored more runs than him and Nissar was the only one who took more wickets. These help to put into context his rather pale test numbers. He was also heavily marginalized in the team by the politics of the infamous Vizzy who was jealous of the fact that a commoner was better than him and more revered. By the time India played a test match again, he was fifty and was not considered for selection.
However given the way he was playing domestic cricket, he very well could have been. His rivalry with Vinoo Mankad, who he snubbed due to the latter's Lancashire League commitment led to two of the most famous incidents in Ranji History. First was in 1951-52's finals, where Phadkar bowled a bouncer that broke Nayudu's tooth and bloodied his mouth, rumoured to be at the insistence of his captain Mankad. However, Nayudu simply spat out pieces of the tooth and asked Phadkar to not stop bouncing him if he wanted to. The legendary batsman then went on to hit 66 in a losing cause. However he led his side to victory in the next season and then retired.
A few years later, he was persuaded to come out of retirement to play for Uttar Pradesh. Their second match was against Rajasthan who had his old foe Mankad. The latter was furious after a lbw call did not go his way and sent in a beamer next out of frustration. He then tried to unnerve Nayudu with a fuller delivery but the latter would just stand still and send the ball out of the ground over the now bewildered Mankad's head. The very next delivery had the same result. He only got out on 84 due to being run-out having dropped his bat, which is understandable given that he was 61 years of age! And this was the story of his late career, in which he was smashing India's best pacers to all parts of the ground along with spinners despite being nearly double the age of most of them!
Nayudu in a nutshell was the W.G. Grace of Indian cricket in terms of the sheer longevity, impact and influence that he left on cricket. If all of this does not convince you that Nayudu's first-class stats do not do him justice in any way, how about the fact that he was Mushtaq Ali's (whose name adorns India's T20 competition today) idol, mentor and biggest inspiration? Neville Cardus described him as "Nayudu is lithe and wristy and volatile. Nayudu is a very sensitive batsman: for each of his strokes you get the impression of a new born energy, of a sudden improvisation of superb technique. Nayudu is not at all mechanical. Watching him from the ring you get a delicious suggestion in his play of his fallibility". There is no doubt that he would have been superb in a modern T20 with his fearless approach to cricket.
In my side, Nayudu will be batting at three, the position he occupied for large parts of his career and where he was most effective. He will play the 'Raina' role of taking on the spinners and pacers equally and keeping the middle overs extremely active with a flurry of boundaries and his famed sixes. As India's first world-class cricketer and a household attraction of those times, he will form a fearsome top three and was also good enough with the ball in his prime to bowl all four overs should need be with his Symonds-esque mix of medium pace cutters and off-breaks but he will most likely be only the sixth bowling option as his batting is more needed. He was a fine fielder in addition even in his later years owing to his superb athleticism and will no doubt add to the leadership potential and elite mentality that my side already has with his superb captaincy, coaching and disciplinary skills.
@Bevab's Blasters
Don Bradman - David Warner
- C.K. Nayudu
- Mohammad Azharuddin
- Yusuf Pathan
- MS Dhoni
- Amar Singh
- Harbhajan Singh
- ?
- Subhash Gupte
- Lasith Malinga
@Parth D to follow (please don't tell me that you were targetting Nayudu too
).
