The

Indian cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

toured England in the 1932 season under the title of "All-India".The All India team in England 1932
/ref> They were captained by the

Maharaja of Porbandar Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaja Rana Shri Sir Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji Sahib Bahadur, KCSI (30 June 1901 – 4 October 1979) was the last Maharaja of Porbandar belonging to Jethwa dynasty, who ascended the throne of princely state of Porbandar o ...

. It was the national team's second tour of England following the one in 1911. India had just been granted the status of ICC Full Member and they played their inaugural

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in June. It was the only Test arranged on this tour and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

won by 158 runs after scoring 259 and 275/8 d in the two innings while India were bowled out for 189 and 187. India played 37 matches on the tour, including 26 first-class fixtures. Because of bad weather, two of their minor fixtures were abandoned without a ball being bowled.India in British Isles 1932
/ref> The team won nine first-class matches, drew nine and lost eight. The schedule was heavy with the team rarely out of action from the first match on 29 April to the last on 10 September. ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' (''Wisden'') commented on this factor as something Indian cricketers of the time were simply not used to. As a result, the team suffered badly with muscle and tendon injuries which meant they became less effective as a team in their later matches. India's outstanding batsman was the right-handed

C. K. Nayudu Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (31 October 1895 – 14 November 1967), also known as CK, was the first captain of the Indian cricket team in Test matches. He played first-class cricket regularly until 1958, and returned for one last time in ...

, who played in all the first-class matches, scoring 1,618 runs at an average of 40.45, including five centuries and a highest score of 162. In the 1933 edition of ''Wisden'', Nayudu was selected as one of the five

Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

for 1932. India had a fine pair of opening bowlers in Amar Singh (111 wickets in first-class matches at 20.37) and Mohammad Nissar (71 wickets at 18.09). Amar Singh took

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

three times and had a best innings return of 8/90.

Indian tour squad

(captain) * K. S. G. Limbdi (vice-captain) *

(Test captain) * Amar Singh *

Sorabji Colah Sorabji Hormasji Munchersha Colah (22 September 1902 – died 11 September 1950) was an Indian cricketer who played two Test matches during the 1930s. Born and educated in Bombay, Colah showed promise at a young age as a good strokeplayer a ...

* Ghulam Mohammad *

Shankarrao Godambe Shankarrao Ramachandra Godambe (1 March 1899 – 6 December 1969) was an Indian cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1920 to 1941. Godambe was a medium-pace seam bowler and useful late-order batsman who had a long career for the Hind ...

* M. Jahangir Khan * Joginder Singh * Bahadur Kapadia (wk) *

Lall Singh Lall Singh ( pa, ਲਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ, Lāla sigha; 16 December 1909 – 19 November 1985) was an early Indian Test cricketer. Cricket career Lall Singh, whose full name was Lall Singh Gill, was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya on 16 Decembe ...

Nariman Marshall Nariman Darabsha Marshall (3 January 1905 – 29 August 1979) was an Indian cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1928 to 1938. Nariman Marshall was a lower middle-order batsman and occasional opener, as well as occasional slow-medium ...

* Mohammad Nissar *

Naoomal Jeoomal Naoomal Jeoomal Makhija (17 April 1904 – 28 July 1980) was an Indian cricketer, who was India's first opening batsman in Test cricket. Naoomal Jeoomal scored 33 and 25 opening India's innings in their first ever Test at Lord's in 1932. He ...

* Janardan Navle (wk) * S. Nazir Ali *

Phiroze Palia Phiroze Edulji Palia (5 September 1910 – 9 September 1981) was an early Indian cricketer. His first name is sometimes written as other orthographic variations including Phiroz. Palia represented India in his first ever Test match at Lord's ...

* S. Wazir Ali

Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history, and the field of economics. ...

, commenting on the selection, said that it "nicely reflected the balance of communal interests". There were seven Hindus, four Muslims, four Parsees and two Sikhs. A number of players, including

Vijay Merchant Vijay Singh Madhavji Merchant , real name Vijay Madhav Thackersey (12 October 1911 – 27 October 1987) was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first-class cricket for Bombay c ...

, refused to participate because of unrest at home and in support of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

who had been arrested in January 1932. Porbandar was the nominal captain but he played little and Nayudu was the ''de facto'' captain. In the times when only Royals used to be Captains, the Maharja of Porbandar official Captain and the official vice-captain Raja of Limbdi both stood down, in rare gesture of sportsmanship and cause of India for the Test match so that more talented Nayudu could lead the team. Thus due to their sacrifice of posts, the 1st Captain to lead India in Test series is recorded as C K NayuduKutch Gurjar Kshatriyas : A brief history & glory: Section: History of Rajput Surnames, their origin and myths : sub-section : History of Jethwas : by Raja Pawan Jethwa (2007). pp 81–82.

Test series

Only Test

Teams in batting order

England: P. Holmes, H. Sutcliffe, F. E. Woolley, W. R. Hammond, D. R. Jardine (captain), E. Paynter, L. E. G. Ames (wk), R. W. V. Robins, F. R. Brown, W. Voce, W. E. Bowes. India: J. G. Navle (wk),

, S. Wazir Ali,

(captain), S. H. M. Colah, S. Nazir Ali, P. E. Palia,

, M. Jahangir Khan, L. Amar Singh, Mohammad Nissar.

First-class matches

In addition to the Lord's Test, India played in 25 first-class matches. They visited all 17 County Championship teams for 19 matches (

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

twice). Their other six first-class opponents were

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC),

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

(at

Forthill Forthill is a cricket ground in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It has been used for cricket since, at the latest, 1884, when Forfarshire played Aberdeenshire there. Scotland first used the ground in 1913 when they played Northamptonshire. ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

), an England XI (at

Cheriton Road Cheriton Road is a complex of sports grounds at Folkestone in the English county of Kent. The complex includes football pitches, a cricket ground, hockey pitches, netball courts and an indoor sports facility. It includes the home ground of Fo ...

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

) and H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI (at

North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough North Marine Road Ground, formerly known as Queen's, is a cricket ground in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Scarborough Cricket Club which hosts the Scarborough Festival and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club plays a se ...

in the

Scarborough Festival {{No footnotes, date=July 2011 The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Ma ...

). Two Indian players who were unavailable for India played against them. These were

Duleepsinhji Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji (13 June 1905 – 5 December 1959) was a cricketer who played for England. Playing in the era before the Indian cricket team, he is considered one of India's first great batsmen, alongside his uncle Ranjitsinhji, who also ...

and

Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi Nawab Mohammad Iftikhar Ali Khan Siddiqui Pataudi, sometimes I. A. K. Pataudi (16 March 1910 – 5 January 1952), was an Indian prince and cricket player. He was the captain of the India's national cricket team during its tour of England in 1 ...

who were both England players. They represented their counties,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

respectively. The third and final day of the match against MCC in May was lost to the weather and the result was a draw, but Nayudu had shown his quality with an innings of 118

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

, scoring more than half of his team's runs. Guha said it was his best innings of the tour and he hit a six which sent the ball so far that it "was last seen leaving the Home of Cricket in an easterly direction". Apart from England, India's strongest opponents were county champions

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. The Indians met them at St George's Road, Harrogate from 16 to 19 July and were defeated by a six-wicket margin. Yorkshire didn't field their strongest team (for example, Herbert Sutcliffe didn't play) and they were reduced to ten batsmen by a first day injury to

Maurice Leyland Maurice Leyland (20 July 1900 – 1 January 1967) was an English international cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938. In first-class cricket, he represented Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1946, scoring ove ...

. Yorkshire won the toss and decided to field. India, with a top score of 48 by Naoomal Jaoomal, were all out for 160 on the Saturday,

Hedley Verity Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 ...

taking five for 65. Yorkshire were 14 for two at the close and declared at 161 for eight on Monday. India were then taken apart by

George Macaulay George Gibson Macaulay (7 December 1897 – 13 December 1940) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1920 and 1935. He played in eight Test matches for England from 1923 to ...

and Verity. Macaulay achieved a career-best eight for 21. India's second innings lasted only 25 overs and they were all out for 66. Remarkably, that total included a half-century as Nazir Ali scored 52; the next best score was 5 – the number of extras. Yorkshire with 68 for four rounded things off on the Tuesday morning. Far from being demoralised by their experience in Harrogate, the Indians went straight down to Lord's for the match against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

from 20 to 22 July. It ended in a draw but the Indians opened with 409 for seven declared and forced Middlesex to

follow on In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...

. Jaoomal and Nayudu both scored centuries. India's injury problems took their toll as the tour neared completion. At Folkestone in September, they lost to the England XI, which was by no means a Test-standard team, by an innings and 40 runs. Their last match in England was the Scarborough Festival game against Leveson Gower's XI and they were again struggling but this time saved by the weather, the match ending as a draw after the whole of the second day's play was lost.

Other matches

India played in thirteen minor matches against a variety of opponents, travelling as far north as Elgin for one match. Fifteen minor matches were scheduled but two, in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, were completely lost to bad weather. The latter of those was a match against

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, then a member of the

Minor Counties Cricket Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. India played against four other minor counties. They lost only one of the minor matches, conceding a surprisingly heavy defeat at West Park, West Bridgford in a two-day match against Sir Julien Cahn's XI by an innings and 26 runs. Apart from Cahn himself, his team was near enough county strength. It included Walter Robins, Denijs Morkel,

Len Richmond This is a list of England Test cricketers. A Test cricket, Test match is an international two-innings per side cricket match between two of the leading cricketing nations. The list is arranged in the order in which each player won his Test cap b ...

and George Heane.Sir Julien Cahn's XI v Indians – scorecard
/ref>

Aftermath

''Wisden'' summarised the tour as one of "immense value to the Indians themselves who, about the middle of the summer, were fifty per cent better than when they arrived, and the lessons they learned will no doubt be passed on to the Indian cricketers of the future". India's next Test match in December 1933, their first at home, was against England to commence a three-match series which England won 2–0. Nayudu and Jardine were again the team captains.