Narayan Jagadeesan (born 24 December 1995 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu) is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batter who has become one of the most successful players in India’s domestic circuit. Coming from a cricketing background his father, Rajan Narayan (also known as C. J. Narayan), was a wicketkeeper batsman for Mumbai and local leagues Jagadeesan started playing at the age of seven and perfected his abilities at the Sri Ramakrishna Cricket Trust Academy under the guidance of A. G. Gurusamy, ultimately representing Tamil Nadu at various levels: under 14, under 16, under 19, under 22, under 23 and under 25, before making his senior debut in October 2016 during the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh, scoring an unbeaten 123 on debut and earning the Man of the Match award. He debuted in T20 for Tamil Nadu in January 2017 during the Inter State Twenty 20 Tournament and made his List A debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in February 2017.
In the first Tamil Nadu Premier League in 2016 (representing Dindigul Dragons), he was named Player of the Tournament, scoring 397 runs in 8 innings at an average of 56, with five fifties the highest in the his steady performance in TNPL persisted until 2024, by which time he had amassed more than 2,260 runs, establishing him as the league’s all-time leading run scorer. His rise in the shorter formats prompted Chennai Super Kings to acquire him in the 2018 IPL auction for ₹20 lakhs; however, he did not make his debut until October 2020, when he played against Royal Challengers Bangalore and scored 33 runs off 28 balls in his initial IPL match.
Jagadeesan stayed with CSK during the 2022 season but had restricted chances he played only a few matches over several seasons, achieving modest results resulting in his transfer to Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2023 auction, where he was acquired for ₹90 lakhs and participated in six innings, accumulating only 89 IPL runs before being let go before the 2024 auction. Domestically, though, he emerged as a force across all formats: by March 15, 2025, he had participated in 52 first-class games, accumulating 3,373 runs with an average of 47.50, featuring a highest score of 321 and achieving ten centuries and fourteen fifties, along with 133 catches and 14 stumpings; in List A cricket, he took part in 64 matches, scoring 2,728 runs at an average of 46.23 with nine hundreds (including a remarkable 277), and in T20s, he accumulated 1,475 runs in 66 matches at an average of 31.38 and a strike rate exceeding 125, with ten fifties and excellent glovework.
His pivotal career moment came in November 2022 during the 2022–23 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he etched his name in the record books by achieving five straight centuries in matches and setting the highest individual score in men’s List A cricket 277 runs off 147 balls against Arunachal Pradesh breaking Alistair Brown’s longstanding record of 268. He concluded that tournament as the top run scorer with 830 runs, surpassing all other players, and attained an impressive average exceeding 150 throughout his innings. This remarkable achievement sparked extensive conversation on Reddit and cricket forums, where fans emphasized his five straight centuries and the rarity of such dominance at that tier. Aside from his statistics, Jagadeesan is lauded for his strong technique, precise front foot drives and inside-out lofts, reliable wicketkeeping, and batting versatility he opens in first-class and List A cricket while frequently positioned in the middle order for T20s.
