Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed’s story as a modern day Indian cricketer is unique compared to most. He made his debut for India in T20Is after a solitary IPL match.

For Khaleel, his natural gift as a left-arm seam bowler that immediately stood out for selectors and scouts, which is the combination of left-arm angle, height and swing - a rarity in Indian bowlers. His potential caught the eye of Rahul Dravid, who was then coaching the U-19 team, and he was drafted in for the 2016 U-19 World Cup. He was next picked by the Delhi Daredevils in 2016 as a developmental bowler, before he even received his List A debut for Rajasthan, and got a season to develop under the tutelage of Zaheer Khan.

His numbers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2017-18 tournament would prove why the faith in his abilities was warranted. He picked 17 wickets in 10 matches at 15.52, helping Rajasthan reach the finals. Despite only playing one game for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, he was fast-tracked to the Asia Cup ODI team in 2018 following a brief spell with the India A team. Khaleel credits the year he spent as an understudy for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, another Indian swing-bowling great, for his development in those early years.

Khaleel would go on to have an extremely impressive 2019 season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 19 wickets in just nine matches, at an average of 15.50 and a remarkable strike-rate of 11.00. In that season, combined with impressive performances for the India A setup in the lead-up to the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, meant Khaleel was considered for selection in that tournament. Ultimately, Khaleel only travelled as a net bowler.

Injuries and loss of form in the next few years meant that Khaleel was dropped from the Indian setup, while the rise of bowlers such as Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj meant he also had to face stiffer competition for his spot. Nevertheless, Khaleel continued to work on his skills in the domestic circles, with recognition of the fact that he had time on his side.

A couple of quiet seasons in the IPL also saw SRH release him ahead of the 2022 mega-auction. His value as a talented Indian left-arm seamer still intact, however, a bidding war saw him return to Delhi for over 5 crore. Khaleel was quickly back to his best as a powerplay specialist under Ricky Ponting, often bowling three of the six powerplay overs to extract the most of his swing. His second spell in Delhi saw a renaissance for Khaleel, who also developed a wide yorker and an off-cutter to make him an asset in the death overs.

His three seasons with Delhi have seen him going for runs in a run-happy IPL, but still he bagged 42 wickets in 33 matches. Khaleel's IPL performance brought him back to the attention of national team selectors, who called him up as a reserve player for the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad.

Five years after his last international cap, Khaleel finally returned to play in Indian colours for the 2024 tour to Zimbabwe, followed by the tour to Sri Lanka. He remains a work in progress in the white-ball format, but has the tools in his game to continue improving, and has already shown the makings of being a potent weapon against any batting lineup early in the innings.

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