[WATCH] IPL 2025: CSK’s Khaleel Ahmed hands over ‘suspicious object’ to Gaikwad, ball tampering row erupts

IPL 2025 Controversy: CSK's Khaleel Ahmed and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad are accused of ball tampering during their match against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025. In a viral video, Khaleel was seen taking something out of his pocket and handing it over to his skipper. Fans claimed the object to be a sandpaper and asked the officials from BCCI and IPL to take strict action against the duo.

While the accusations from the fans are only on the nascent level, one could not make any conclusions from the viral video. One cannot recognize the object in the video and hence can't be sure of what Khaleel Ahmed took out from his pocket.

Watch the video below: 

Jonas Kahnwald@JonasKahnwaldOG

Khaleel Ahmed was doing something to ball with an unknown object then he gave that object to Ruturaj Gaikwad.... Is it BALL TEMPERING👀👀 BCCI must investigate it..... #CSKvsMI Video Credit:- @JioHotstar, @StarSportsIndia & @IPL

10:42 AM · Mar 24, 2025

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However, a certain section of fans crashed on CSK and asked the higher authorities to ban the franchise from the league. The video has sparked a debate on social media which has led to mixed opinions. While some felt the video had been misinterpreted, others felt the authorities were lenient on a successful team like the 5-time champions.

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Khaleel Ahmed and Ruturaj Gaikwad shine for CSK against MI

Regardless, it was a great night for both Khaleel and Ruturaj. Individually, they contributed well to the team's cause. Gaikwad had an effective game both as a batter and as a captain. Khaleel was one of the four highly impressive CSK players from the game along with Gaikwad, Noor Ahmad, and Rachin Ravindra.

On his CSK debut, the left-arm pacer bowled 5 overs, conceded just 29 runs, and claimed 3 wickets. He put CSK in the dominant position by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton early in the innings. Later in the death-over phase, Ahmed claimed the wicket of Trent Boult and helped CSK to restrict MI to 155/9.

Ruturaj had a good game as well. The CSK skipper came in to bat after the dismissal of Rahul Tripathi. The star batter smashed a brisk 53(26), which included 6 fours and 3 sixes. Gaikwad registered his fifty in just 22 balls, the fastest in his IPL career. Needless to say, it took the game away from MI.