A Colonel Destined To Lead - Biography of Col. CK Nayudu - India's first test captain
Before India could claim its place on cricket's grandest stage, one player had to blaze the trail. Aditya Bhushan's biography chronicles the extraordinary life of Col. CK Nayudu, the pioneering figure who transformed a sport from foreign curiosity into national passion. When Nayudu smashed 153 runs against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club at Bombay Gymkhana, he didn't just make runs, he made history, forcing the cricket establishment to recognise India as a serious contender. Yet his appointment as the nation's inaugural test captain in 1932 came at a curious moment, when his best years already lay behind him with the Hindus team. Those earlier seasons, spent dominating the Bombay Quadrangular in the 1920s and 1930s, had established him as cricket's first genuine Indian celebrity, a man playing when the sport itself was still finding its feet in the country. This portrait captures a unique period in sporting history, exploring how one person's talent and determination could reshape a nation's sporting identity. It's a story about legacy, timing, and the singular power of individual excellence to change everything.
- Author: Aditya Bhushan
- Publisher: StoryMirror
- Genre: Sports & Recreation
- ISBN: 978-9387269279
- Pages: 120 pages