Ceylonese cricket team in India in 1940–41
The Ceylon cricket team visited India in December 1940 and January 1941. Ceylon did not have Test status, but they played two three-day unofficial Tests, one first-class match, and two minor matches. The first Test was drawn and India won the second. This tour was Ceylon’s second overseas trip and one of only two international tours during World War II (the other was India’s tour to Ceylon in 1944–45).
Jayawickreme and Kelaart were the only players to have taken part in Ceylon’s 1932–33 tour. Wahid, an opening batsman and left-arm spin bowler for Moors Sports Club in Colombo, played only in the two minor matches and never in first-class cricket.
The tour began with a win for Ceylon over Madras. The first international match, in Calcutta, was against an Indian side mostly from Bengal and ended in a draw; Ceylon led on the first innings by 121, thanks to Jayawickreme’s 138. In the second international match in Bombay, three days later, India fielded a completely different team and won by an innings and 110 runs. The two minor matches that followed were both drawn.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:33 (CET).