Who Is Khaleel Ahmed Selected in India Squad for Asia Cup 2018? Know More About the Rookie Fast-Bowler As He Gets Maiden ODI Call-Up!
There were quite a few surprises in India’s squad for Asia Cup 2018 with no Virat Kohli in the team, and Rohit Sharma appointed as the captain. However, the big surprise came in the form of the inclusion of Khaleel Ahmed! Who's he? Know here!
BCCI, on Wednesday, announced a 16-member squad for India’s campaign at Asia Cup 2018. There were quite a few surprises in India’s squad for the multi-nation tournament with no Virat Kohli in the team, and Rohit Sharma appointed as the captain. However, the big surprise was the inclusion of Khaleel Ahmed.
The BCCI included Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari in India’s Test squad for the 4th and 5th Test match, last week. And with the selection of uncapped player Khaleel Ahmed, the BCCI is infusing young blood in the team very smartly.
Khaleel Ahmed took eight wickets playing for India A and was a vital cog in India’s victory over England A side, this past month. With his impressive performances in the recently concluded India-A series in India, the BCCI has rewarded the rookie with a maiden call-up in the One Day International (ODI) format.
The 20-year-old bowler has been an opening bowler for the India U-19 side for quite a long time. Mentored by Rahul Dravid, Khaleel Ahmed’s idol happens to be Zaheer Khan. Talking to an English Daily, Khaleel had expressed his ambitions to emulate the former Indian fast bowler, Zak. In a candid confession, he admits it was Dravid’s influence, and he was the reason for the turnaround in his career.
The left-arm pacer was bagged by Delhi Daredevils during the auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 when Rahul Dravid was associated with them as their team mentor. In IPL 2018, Ahmed was associated with runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Khaleel Ahmed made his first-class debut last year and played his first List A match earlier this year. In his brief career, he has played in the teams of Delhi Daredevils, India A, India Under-19s, Rajasthan Under-16s, Rajasthan Under-19s, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
India's Squad for Asia Cup 2018: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), K L Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and Khaleel Ahmed.
Khaleel Ahmed would be looking to make the most of the opportunity of being a member of the Indian senior team. With Asia Cup scheduled to begin on September 15 in UAE, it will be interesting to see if the young fast bowler gets a chance to feature in the first XI or not!
India will be playing its first match of the tournament on September 18! Stay tuned with us for all the latest updates of Asia Cup 2018.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2018 05:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).