diff --git a/ci/run_cudf_polars_pytests.sh b/ci/run_cudf_polars_pytests.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..78683b057a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/run_cudf_polars_pytests.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# It is essential to cd into python/cudf_polars as `pytest-xdist` + `coverage` seem to work only at this directory level.
+
+# Support invoking run_cudf_polars_pytests.sh outside the script directory
+cd "$(dirname "$(realpath "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")"/../python/cudf_polars/
+
+pytest --cache-clear "$@" tests
diff --git a/ci/test_cudf_polars.sh b/ci/test_cudf_polars.sh
index 95fb4b431bf..ca98c4dadb3 100755
--- a/ci/test_cudf_polars.sh
+++ b/ci/test_cudf_polars.sh
@@ -42,13 +42,11 @@ EXITCODE=0
 trap set_exitcode ERR
 set +e
 
-python -m pytest \
-       --cache-clear \
+./ci/run_cudf_polars_pytests.sh \
        --cov cudf_polars \
        --cov-fail-under=100 \
        --cov-config=python/cudf_polars/pyproject.toml \
-       --junitxml="${RAPIDS_TESTS_DIR}/junit-cudf_polars.xml" \
-       python/cudf_polars/tests
+       --junitxml="${RAPIDS_TESTS_DIR}/junit-cudf_polars.xml"
 
 trap ERR
 set -e