8 Interesting facts about Syed Khaleel Ahmed

A day to remember for the young seamer from Rajasthan – Syed Khaleel Ahmed as the Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 auction. The left-arm seamer who was an integral part of the 2016 U19 Indian side under Rahul Dravid, bagged a massive contract worth Rs. 3 crore. The Sunrisers have always promoted young fast bowling talents and things are no different this time around.

The 20-year-old hails from the Tonk District, Rajasthan, managed to grab a lot of limelight with his impressive performance in the U19 World Cup back in 2016. Under the leadership of Ishan Kishan, the U19 side managed to enter the finals. They lost narrowly to West Indies in the finals, but that batch produced some wonderful talents like Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan and others.

After all the praises he received after the U19 campaign, his first-class career didn’t get off to a great start. He played just two games in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season and picked two wickets. Just when the lad was going out of the attention, he once again hogged the limelight by finishing as the second highest wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Here are some interesting facts about the pacer, who will be a part of the very exuberant Orange Army for the IPL 2018 season.

1. Born in Tonk, Rajasthan

Khaleel was born in Tonk, Rajasthan on December 5, 1997. His passion for cricket and fast bowling got him into the stateside at a very young age. He represented Rajasthan at the U16 and the U19 levels.

2. A graduate of the “Rahul Dravid School”

This is a tag every youngster wears proudly these days. Khaleel’s outstanding talent was wonderful nourishment under the mentorship of Rahul Dravid. He was India’s opening bowler in the U19 World Cup and did a splendid job for the Boys in Blue.

3. Former Daredevil

In the previous edition of the IPL, Khaleel was a part of the Delhi Daredevils contingent. Rahul Dravid incidentally was the mentor of the Daredevils squad and he played under the watchful eyes of Zaheer Khan someone he looks up to.

4. Unforgettable Mushtaq Ali campaign

In the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign, Syed Khaleel Ahmed managed to pick 17 wickets in 10 games. He finished the tournament as the second highest wicket-taker with an exceptional average of 15.53 and a strike rate of 13.77. He also maintained an impressive economy rate of 6.77.

5. Idolizes Zaheer Khan

Young Khaleel Ahmed, who is to be a left-arm seamer, told CricTracker in an exclusive chat that he was inspired to take up the sport and fast bowling in particular after watching Zaheer Khan bowl. He idolizes one of India’s greatest pace bowlers ever and he has a similar jump leading into the delivery stride.

6. A lucrative, life-changing IPL contract

The youngster will remember the 2018 auction for a long time. He induced a bidding war among the franchises and eventually, was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping 3 crore having been introduced for a base price of 20 lakh. He will join a bunch of amazing fast bowling talent like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Basil Thampi, T. Natarajan and Siddarth Kaul.

7. Impressive performance for India A

Khaleel Ahmed, despite bagging a lucrative contract in the IPL, didn’t get many chances in the tournament. In only a solitary game which he played, the youngster gave away 38 runs in three overs. But he was on the radar of the selectors and picked him for the recently concluded quadrangular series for India A and Khaleel didn’t disappoint. He returned with seven wickets after four matches at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.38.

8. Maiden ODI call-up

His impressive show for India A led to the left-arm pacer being selected for the Asia Cup. This is his maiden ODI call-up with even the chief selector MSK Prasad mentioning that they are looking at him to book a seamer’s slot for the World Cup next year in England.

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