One of the top class fast bowlers to come out of Kandy is T. B. Kehelgamuwa, a product of Dharmaraja College a man who earned a name in bowling, was always a tough fighter and a cricketer who worried many batsmen. Tikiri Banda Kehelgamuwa was born in 1942 on the 10th day of December in Gampola.His parents were school teachers at Gampola. He was very lucky that he had his education in Kandy, where he excelled in studies and as an outstanding cricketer in the early 1960s. It was cricket which earned him a name, at Dharmaraja College; he also played Football, Hockey and also was a good Athlete and excelled in all four sports.
When he was playing for Dharmaraja College he gave his best and captained the senior team1960-1961 and was selected as the best bowler in the island in the ‘Daily News’ Schoolboy Cricketer Contest.
His biggest achievement was as a schoolboy he was picked to tour India with the Sri Lanka (Ceylon) schools team in 1961. The team was led by Ananda College cricketer lateY. Amaradasa. Kehel did well in bowling to control the Indians and pocketed the best figures of 8 wickets for 8 runs. In the year 1961 made Kandy proud by representing Sri Lanka(Ceylon) in the famous Gopalan Trophy match under the captaincy of C. I. Gunasekera and later under Michael Tissera.
Kehel, for employment joined the Police Force in 1963 and played under stalwarts like T. B. Werapitiya, Tommy Kelaart,Neil Weerasinghe, Franklyn Burke, Hilton C. Perera, G. S. Ratnayake, S..Sivaratnam to name a few in the Government Services Cricket tournament . He also played for Nomads Cricket Club from 1970-1974 and was in the Nomads side which won the Sara Trophy under the leadership of D. H. de Silva.
He retired From the Police in 2002 as a Deputy Inspector General. He had the distinction of being a member of the Sri Lanka (Ceylon) team that beat the MCC for the first time in 1969 in a limited-over game. The MCC team was led by Colin Cowdrey and had spinner Derek Underwood and great opener Geoff Boycott, Keith Fletcher in that side. He was also a member of the Ceylon Government Services team that toured India in1972 to play in the Sheesh Mahal Trophy. They were beaten in the final by Rushi Mod’s XI. But Kehel was able to pocket fifteen wickets in that tournament with an average of 12.3 runs per wicket.
In 1968, he helped the Government Services cricket team to beat the Mercantile Services in the National Cricket tournament final, where he bowled well to take 5 wickets for 49 runs. Then in the Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in 1972, he was the only player to be selected from a Division III side (playing for Police SC) to the Sri Lanka side. He was also was the Manager of the Sri Lanka team, on the New Zealand tour 1995.
Incidentally under his manager ship, Sri Lanka Test team recorded their first overseas Test victory. Then in 2002, he did a top job as Sri Lanka cricket manager on the Pakistan tour.
He had the unique distinction of being a selector for 10 years and was the Chairman of the Selection Committee of Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka in the last two years of his stewardship 1999 and 2000.
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