Khaleel Ahmed eyes good performance in IPL to brighten chances of playing in World Cup

Tall and skilled left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed is yet to cement his place in the Indian team but a lot of people are already seeing a long-term prospect in him. The Rajasthan bowler made his international debut against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup last year and since then he has taken some decent strides ahead. He though was not as productive in the recent ODIs played in Australia and New Zealand but that hasn’t eroded the 21-year-old cricketer’s confidence.

Former India left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who Khaleel idolizes, recently pointed out the technicalities that the latter has to address and advised him to learn from the growth story of Jasprit Bumrah. As per Sportstar, Zaheer has also told Khaleel to ‘live in the present’ and that is something that the youngster has taken seriously. All his focus goes on to the next delivery. He started well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament against Tamil Nadu on Thursday by taking 3 wickets for 14 runs, proving that he can’t be kept away from action for long.

Yet, like all other cricketers at the moment, Khaleel too fancies his chance of making it to the World Cup squad or else, the wait will be on for another four years. The man hasn’t been picked either for the upcoming series against Australia but that hasn’t depressed him and he is looking forward to do well in the Indian Premier League starting next month to impress the selectors and find himself in the contention for a WC berth, Sportstar reported.

Khaleel keeps in mind McGrath’s precious advice

Khaleel also owes it to former greats like Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation. The former Australia spearhead advised Khaleel to aim for the top of off-stump irrespective of the format he is playing and the youngster keeps that in mind vividly every time he rushes in with the ball in his hand.

Khaleel also mentioned the name of MRF Foundation’s head coach M Senthilnathan saying he has also learned a lot from him. During his tour with the Indian team in Australia and New Zealand, too, Khaleel also got to benefit from the words of bowling coach Bharat Arun.

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