Who is Khaleel Ahmed?

Khaleel has the pace, and over the last couple of seasons has been working on swinging the ball both ways.

September 18, 2018 05:22 pm | Updated 05:22 pm IST

 Khaleel Ahmed celebrates a wicket during a quandrangular ODI series.

Khaleel Ahmed celebrates a wicket during a quandrangular ODI series.

When the Indian team for the Asia Cup was announced earlier this month, the only new face was Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm fast bowler from Rajasthan.

Khaleel, 20, has played only two first-class games but has mainly played limited-overs games for Rajasthan and India A. Khaleel was part of the India Under-19 side for the World Cup in Bangladesh in 2016.

Growing up in Tonk, Rajasthan, Khaleel began by playing tennis ball cricket. “Tennis ball cricket helped me grow as a fast bowler,”he told The Hindu in March. “We would play mostly on cement pitches and had to bowl fast. The tennis ball is light and helps you improve your arm rotation.”

Khaleel has the pace, and over the last couple of seasons has been working on swinging the ball both ways.

Khaleel played six matches in the U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh but didn't make much of an impact, taking 3 wickets. He made his first-class debut in 2017-18, playing two Ranji Trophy games and picking up two wickets. It was at the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he made a big impact, taking 17 wickets in ten games at an impressive economy rate of 6.76 runs per over.

He was selected for the India A squad for the tour of England in 2018, where in five limited-overs games he picked up eight wickets. Back in India, he took 3 for 45 in a one-day match against South Africa A in Bengaluru.

Khaleel was first picked by Delhi Daredevils but didn't get to play for them. However, he spent valuable time under the then captain Zaheer Khan. “He (Zaheer) taught me how to bowl on different pitches, what line and length to bowl to different batsmen,” Khaleel told The Hindu. “He corrected a lot of technical issues also.”

Khaleel was later picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the auction in 2018, for Rs 3 crore. He played one match for them this season.

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