XtraTime Web Desk: Left arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed dreamt of playing for India at a young age. He did pursue his dream after overcoming economic hardships and not paying heed to his father’s instructions. 22 years old Khaleel finally was rewarded a place in the Indian team when he was picked for the 2018 Asia Cup in UAE. He was part of the victorious Asia Cup squad and the series against West Indies that followed. But dismal overseas outings against New Zealand and Australia dented his hopes of making it to the 2019 World Cup squad. With the likes of Navdeep Saini, and Deepak Chahar putting up good performances, the spotlight shifted from the lanky left arm seamer.
Khaleel hails from a lower middle class family in Tonk, Rajasthan. His father Khursheed who is a nurse by profession wanted his son to become a doctor. Being the only earning member of the family (three daughter and a son), it was a struggle for Khursheed. A young Khaleel however had interests in cricket from childhood days, seating in front of the TV sets whenever a match was telecasted. Khaleel joined a cricket academy when he was 12 years old without informing his father. The academy coach Imtiyaz Khan, spotting Khaleel’s talent convinced his father to admit him in Rajasthan Cricket Academy. The youngster was groomed by Tarak Sinha who was the coach at RCA. In the under-14 Rajsingh Dungarpur Trophy, he took 26 wickets in four matches. Later, he was selected for a camp at the BCCI Specialist Academy in Mohali. Following an impressive show, Khaleel was picked in India U19 squad for 2016 World Cup. He was soon drafted in the Rajasthan Ranji Trophy squad and made his first class debut against Jammu & Kashmir on October 06,2018. The 20-year-old having played only two first-class matches, made the cut for India in Asia Cup. He had an impressive ODI debut against Hong Kong where he picked 3 wickets. A couple of months later he made his T20I debut against West Indies at Eden gardens on November 4, 2018. But a string of poor performances has pushed Khaleel a little behind the rest.
The talented pacer has worked on his bowling with his idol Zaheer Khan who suggested him to bowl a further up. Khaleel will be hoping to make an impression when he gets the next opportunity.
Khaleel has so far picked 15 wickets in 11 ODIs and 13 wickets in 14 T20Is.