‘Every day was like a battle’: Khaleel Ahmed opens up on long-awaited return to national team after T20 World Cup selection

Delhi Capitals’ (DC) pacer Khaleel Ahmed has earned a spot in the reserves list of India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup after some good performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He has snared 14 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 30.43 with an economy rate of 9.68 so far. Notably, the T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to begin in June in the USA and West Indies.  

While speaking on the DC podcast, Khaleel, who last played for India in December 2019, said that he had the intuition that something good would happen. He added that he was so happy after his name came on India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.

"The way the past few months were going and the way the IPL started, I had the intuition that something good would happen," Khaleel said.

 

"As the IPL matches progressed, my confidence continued to grow. I realised I was bowling well, and it has always been about moving one step ahead. Finally, when the name came, I was so happy, and it's a step ahead for me,” he added.

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The left-arm pacer has played 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is for India and bagged 15 and 13 wickets respectively. He last played for India against Bangladesh at Nagpur in a T20 match in November, 2019.

"2019 was a long time ago. Every day, at the back of my mind, I missed that feeling of playing for the country. Every time I used to watch India play, I used to imagine what I would have done if I was there in the team. So, every day was like a battle and these kinds of conversations were going on inside my head," Khaleel continued.

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He went on to say that his life has always been about cricket and nothing else can bother him.

"Mentally, you just have to fight for it, day, night or any time, because my life has always been about cricket. My thoughts have only been about cricket, nothing else bothers me," he added.

Talking about IPL 2024, he said that this is the best moment for the fast bowlers to come to light.

“This is the best moment for the fast bowlers to come to light. If a bowler performs in tough situations like these, he will be considered a King, and I want to be that King. So, this is what my mentality has been about the current scenario," the 26-year-old concluded.

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