Khaleel Ahmed IPL Profile

Khaleel Khursheed Ahmed is an Indian international cricketer, who was born on December 5, 1997, in Tonk, Rajasthan, India. Khaleel is primarily a left-arm fast bowler, who is known for his ability to generate pace above 140 kmph. Ahmed made his T20 debut for Rajasthan in the 2016-17 Inter-State Twenty-20 Tournament. Khaleel's performance in the Tri-Nation event was remarkable, clinching 12 wickets in his three innings. 

Khaleel's impressive skill of bowling at a considerably high speed and swinging the ball helped him to grasp the attention of the Indian U-19 coach Rahul Dravid. He soon became a part of India's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He shared the dressing room with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Avesh Khan, Washington Sundar among others as India went on to finish runners-up to West Indies. 

Khaleel made his first-class debut for Rajasthan in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy on October 2017. The following year, the southpaw made his List A debut for Rajasthan in the 2017–18 Vijay Hazare Trophy. His domestic achievements soon earned him a spot on India-A's tour to England. He ended that tour with 15 wickets from just nine games and caught the eyes of the selectors. 

His senior national team debut came up against Hong Kong during the 2018 Asia Cup as he picked up three wickets in the game. Amid high competition, lack of form and injuries, the pacer couldn't keep his spot in the Indian team for long. Khaleel last played for India in November 2019 against Bangladesh, representing India in 25 matches during the period.

As far his IPL career is concerned, Khaleel was initially inducted into the Delhi Capitals side for the 2016 season at a base price after the U-19 World Cup but didn't see any game time during the tenure. The Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Khaleel in the 2018 IPL auction. 

The 2019 IPL season turned out to be the best of his career as the pacer took 19 wickets in 9 games. He was released by SRH ahed of the IPL 2022's mega auction after a couple of quiet seasons in 2020 and 2021. Delhi Capitals picked him up for INR 5.25 crore and the pacer repaid the faith with 16 wickets in the season. 2023, however, was cut short with injuries again as the pacer picked 9 wickets in 9 games while Capitals were among the bogey teams of the season.