Ricky Ponting has seen enough of Khaleel Ahmed in the nets to back the pacer for making it to India’s squad for the upcoming Australia tour. Having coached Khaleel for the last three seasons at the Delhi Capitals (DC), the former Australian skipper feels that being a left-arm fast bowler will help Khaleel find a place in the 5-match Test series.
Despite joining DC in 2022, the 26-year-old has already become their eighth-highest wicket-taker of all time. Off the back of a good IPL 2024 season, he played for the Men in Blue after 5 long years. He played three matches against Zimbabwe, taking 3 wickets, and couldn’t get a scalp against Sri Lanka in the last T20I.
“Someone like Khaleel Ahmed I think could find himself on the Test tour. I know he’s just been over in Zimbabwe recently and played that series over there, but a left-armer would be ideal for them to have in their touring squad. Shami will be back fit by then, Siraj we know will be there abouts somewhere and obviously Bumrah is going nowhere. So both teams are going to line up really, really strongly,” Ponting said on the ICC Review.
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Does Khaleel Ahmed warrant a place in India’s Test team?
However, nothing in his first-class record suggests that he’s ready to make his India Test debut. He was average in the last Ranji Trophy season (2023-24) and was Rajasthan’s fourth-best bowler. He could return to first-class with the Duleep Trophy starting on September 5 and make a case for the Indian test team with home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand coming up.
Khaleel Ahmed’s first class record
| Mat | Inns | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 19 | 25 | 4/19 | 5/68 | 35 | 2.95 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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