N Jagadeesan

Born on December 24, 1995, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Narayan Jagadeesan, fondly called Jaggi, is a wicketkeeper and a top-order batter.  He has occasionally batted in the middle order and played handy cameos in T20 cricket. The 28-year-old plays for the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket and is a part of the Chepauk Super Gillies squad in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). 

Jagadeesan has amassed a truckload of runs in his kitty within the domestic circuit. His all-format capabilities have garnered him roundabout attention. He has yet to earn a national call-up thanks to a heavy tiff for the wicketkeeper-batter slot.  

N Jagadeesan: Along the Years

N Jagadeesan Records

• Leading run-scorer in TNPL 2016 (397)

• Second-leading run-scorer in TNPL 2018 (396)

• Leading run-scorer in TNPL 2019 (448)

• Third-leading run-scorer in TNPL 2021 (336)

• Highest individual score by a batter in List-A cricket (277)

• First-ever batter to score 5 consecutive centuries in List-A cricket

• Highest individual score by a batter for Tamil Nadu in First-Class cricket (321)

• Most runs in TNPL history (2260)

N Jagadeesan Career

N Jagadeesan came through the ranks with an impressive bat season in the inaugural edition of the TNPL. He has smashed numerous domestic records across formats but has been ignored by the national selectors. The wicketkeeper-batter has represented the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  

N Jagadeesan Domestic Career

N Jagadeesan has played all of his domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu age group teams, the Tamil Nadu senior team, the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), including the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL before marking his move to the Knight Riders.

Jagadeesan’s TNPL success made him a household name in the state and then made him progress to the IPL. He burst onto the scene with his batting exploits in the state-run tournament in the inaugural edition of TNPL 2016 for the Dindigul Dragons. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 397 runs in 8 innings at an average of 56.71. In TNPL 2018, he managed to score 396 runs and was the second-highest run-getter. He continued his rich vein of form in the next edition and topped the batting charts by scoring 448 runs in 10 innings. He also registered his maiden TNPL ton against Ruby Trichy Warriors in that season. In TNPL 2021, Jagadeesan was drafted into the Chepauk Super Gillies’ squad. He boasts a record of being the leading run-getter of all time in TNPL history. After the culmination of the TNPL 2024, he has amassed 2260 runs at an average of 41.09 at a strike rate of 126.82

Jagadeesan made his domestic debut for Tamil Nadu against Madhya Pradesh as a 20-year-old in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season. On his First-Class (FC) debut, he impressed instantaneously with an unbeaten century and was adjudged the ‘Player Of The Match.’ In the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season, Jagadeesan scored a magnificent triple century against Chandigarh on his home ground Coimbatore. He broke a 36-year-old record for the highest individual score by a Tamil Nadu, previously held by WV Raman batter by smashing 321 runs. He featured for India B in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy 2024. He scored 70 runs against India C, but could not capitalize on his momentum in the next outing.

Since then, Jagadeesan has scored 2699 runs in 44 FC matches at a more than healthy average of about 46 with eight centuries and nine half-centuries under his belt as of September 2024.

Four months after his FC debut, he stepped into List A cricket during a Vijay Hazare Trophy encounter against Uttar Pradesh. Although he scored just 10 runs on debut, he has now scored over 2000 runs in 58 games at an average of 44.90 as of September 2024. The wicketkeeper-batter has eight centuries and as many half-centuries in the format at the domestic level. On November 21, 2022, he etched his name in the record books when he topped the chart for the highest individual score registered in List-A cricket history against Arunachal Pradesh. He whacked a colossal 277 off just 141 balls at a gigantic strike rate of 196.45, which included 25 boundaries and 15 sixes.

En route, his highest List-A score, Jagadeesan also became the first-ever batter to score five centuries on consecutive occasions in List-A cricket. He surpassed the previously held joint records of veteran Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara, South African Alviro Petersen, and Karnataka southpaw Devdutt Padikkal, who had scored four centuries on the trot respectively.

On January 30, 2017, Jagadeesan made his T20 debut for Tamil Nadu against Hyderabad in Chennai. He opened the innings with southpaw Abhinav Mukund but managed to score just 18 runs. Jagadeesan was extremely impressive in the shortest format of the game with 702 runs in his first 35 matches at an average above 35. Four of his half-centuries came while opening the innings as well as floating in the middle order whenever his former state skipper Dinesh Karthik opened the innings. However, a dip in form meant that Jagadeesan had below-par strides in T20 cricket, with his average going under 30 and strike rate descending to a mere 118.78, as of September 2024.

N Jagadeesan IPL career

Following his TNPL exploits, Narayan Jagadeesan was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2018 mega auction. After warming the bench for a couple of seasons, he made his IPL debut in 2020 for CSK against Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru). His mature knock of 33 runs off 28 balls at No. 4 was one of the highlights of that innings. He showed promise in an otherwise dismal season for the Super Kings but was run out by Chris Morris. However, he scored a duck in his only other innings in the tournament.

Jagadeesan was let go by the franchise only to be recalled in the IPL 2022 mega auction for his base price of INR 20 lakhs. He played a couple of matches before being released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. His services were acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 90 lakhs. The Knight Riders boasted of keepers in the form of Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Bangladesh’s Liton Das alongside Jagadeesan. He played 6 innings but managed to score just 89 runs. Jagadeesan was released by KKR and found no takers in the IPL 2024 auction.

N Jagadeesan Captaincy

N Jagadeesan has led the Chepauk Super Gillies in the TNPL 2023.