MUMBAI: His team, Chennai Super Kings, might still be struggling to stay in contention for the playoff but this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is turning out to be special for the left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. The 27-year-old from Tonk, Rajasthan was bought for `4.8 crore by the five-time champions in the mega auction. His effectiveness in the opening overs was perhaps one of the reasons for splurging that sum on him and he has reposed the faith put on him by the team management.
Till CSK's match against Lucknow Super Giants, Ahmed has struck in the innings' opening over four times in seven matches giving MS Dhoni-led side an early inroad. Be it the delivery that bowled MI batter Rohit Sharma through the gate or the one that sent back Delhi Capitals' opener Jake Fraser-McGurk. The same was the fate of Yashasvi Jaiswal of Rajasthan Royals and LSG's Aiden Markram when they faced Ahmed in the first over of the innings.
In the last edition as well, he was among the top wicket-takers in the powerplay with eight strikes in 14 innings. A regular in the league since 2018, Ahmed made his India debut in both ODIs and T20Is in the same year but lost his place in the national team soon. Despite being fast-tracked into the team due to lack of left-arm seaming options, he went out of favour due to inconsistent form and frequent injuries. Emergence of left-arm seamers like Arshdeep Singh also played a part in his long ouster from the team. He, though, made a comeback to the T20I side last year but is yet to cement his place in the team.
IPL 2025, however, can help Ahmed regain his lost place if he continues in the same vein for the remainder of the tournament. Given his situation, Ahmed knew the importance of the tournament and did a few but meaningful sessions with his childhood coach Imtiyaz Ali Khan before joining the CSK squad.
"He trained here at the Blare Cricket Academy (earlier Tonk Cricket Academy) for four days before heading to Chennai for the IPL," the childhood coach told this daily. A lot of things were discussed involving several aspects of bowling during those sessions. "In the IPL, the boundaries are small and wickets are flat. So the discussion was how to be effective in those conditions. In such situations, bowlers usually try to survive but it was decided to go for wickets instead of looking for survival. Once you do it, four wickets in four overs despite giving away 40 runs is a better figure than merely surviving. We used to start the session at 11 in the morning and that used to go on till 5-6 in the evening. A few breaks were also given to have refreshments."
Ahmed and his coach worked on his non-bowling arm, release point and lengths where he has to bowl during those sessions. "I have noticed a few things which have not been going right and worked on the same when he came here. His non-bowling arm was falling away sideways, So we worked on it by having a smooth and controlled run up and maintaining balance," added the coach.
Khan also trained him to bowl at the fourth and fifth stump as batters usually tend to hit the ball access leg side in the shortest format of the game. "I advised him to focus bowling on 6-8 metre length outside off stump, usually at the fourth and fifth stump. It's difficult to pull the ball from that length to the leg side which the batters frequently do in T20 cricket these days. This will not only save boundaries but also fetch you wickets."
Apart from his on field show, Ahmed was also in the spotlight for his showdown with Virat Kohli after CSK's loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru a few weeks ago. The pacer had bowled a bouncer to the former India captain and in his follow through went close to Kohli. The RCB star later expressed his displeasure with the demeanour during the customary handshake after the match. The coach, however, defended Ahmed saying a pacer is bound to get aggressive while bowling. "A pacer will show his aggression while bowling irrespective of whom he is bowling at. Kohli instead of taking it otherwise should have taken that in his stride and motivated Ahmed," he said.
Overall, Khan is happy with his ward's show in the IPL so far and could be in attendance for the CSK's match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. He is in constant touch with Ahmed and hoping for another wicket in the first over from the speedster so that he can enjoy the moment from the stands.