Known for his aggressive batting style, his ability to hit long sixes sent crowds into a frenzy and became legendary in Indian cricket folklore.

[17] His standout performance came in 1926–27 when he scored 153 runs in 116 minutes, hitting 11 sixes against the visiting Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which paved the way for India's elevation to Test status.

After retiring from Test cricket, Nayudu led the Holkar team to eight Ranji Trophy finals in nine years, winning four titles.

[20] Beyond his playing career, Nayudu served as vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the chairman of the national selection committee.

[23] Historian Ramachandra Guha noted of him, "C. K. Nayudu was the first Indian cricketer to be a popular hero, whose appeal transcended the barriers of caste, class, gender and religion.

[34][35][33] In 1896, at a cricket match played between soldiers and the Nayudu Club XI, Narayanaswamy distributed copper coins to mark the birth of his grandson.

[43][5] MCC's bowling attack included the likes of Maurice Tate, George Geary, and Bob Wyatt.

[45][19] His efforts bore fruit and led to the formation of the Indian cricket board in 1928 and India was granted Test status.

In the immediate months before the England tour, the Viceroy of India, Lord Willingdon believed that the team ought to be captained by an English player.

[49] It was suggested that an Englishman playing in India, like Alec Hosie, C. P. Johnstone or Reginald Lagden, should captain the team, to placate the factions within the tour party.

Indian cricket at the time was financially patronised by princes and various people of royal background were lobbying for the captaincy.

[53]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.

In the middle of the night, they had woken up the tour captain, the Maharajah of Porbandar, and told him they only wanted to be led by royalty and not by a 'commoner' like Nayudu.

[54][49] Cables were exchanged with officials in India and the Maharaja of Patiala ordered the players to accept Nayudu's captaincy.

One of Nayudu's sixes at Edgbaston, was said to have cleared the county, crossing the River Rea, which then formed the boundary between Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

[3] He played for various domestic teams in his career including Hindus, Madras, Hyderabad, Central India, Holkar, Andhra, Uttar Pradesh.

[17] Post-retirement, Nayudu served as the chairman of the national selection committee, vice-president of the BCCI, and as a radio commentator.

And one of Nayudu's 32 sixes on India's 1932 tour of England, at Edgbaston, was said to have cleared the county, crossing the River Rea, which then formed the boundary between Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

[16] Bob Wyatt, who played against Nayudu, noted that he was not a mere slogger, for 'his perfect poise, high backlift in a long pendulum swing brought beauty to his strokes'.

[43] 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.

[28] His son, Prakash Nayudu was a sportsperson who represented Madhya Pradesh cricket team and was a National Junior Table Tennis champion.

[80] C. K. Nayudu was the first truly mass hero of subcontinental sport, each of his sixes was interpreted as a nationalist answer to the British Raj.

He was the first Indian cricketer to be a popular hero, whose appeal transcended the barriers of caste, class, gender and religion.

[100] 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.

Whether it was bowling, batting, fielding, captaincy, physical fitness, positive approach to the game, there will never be Nayudu's equal among Indians.

A road was named after him in his ancestral hometown Machilipatnam by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Kasu Brahmananda Reddy.

[107] 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.

[110] In 2001, Guha included him in his All-Star Eleven team of great Indian cricketers with a countrywide popularity whose stardom persisted beyond retirement.

[39] Dicky Rutnagur, the sports journalist, once wrote that schoolboys left their classes and businessmen stopped trading to be at Bombay Gymkhana when they heard that C. K. Nayudu had arrived at the crease.