IND vs WI: Three players to watch out for in the 1st T20I

Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed had an extraordinary IPL season and he was duly rewarded with a place in the Indian squad.

Ever since the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra retired, India have been constantly on the lookout for a talented left-arm seamer without much success. Bowlers like S Aravind, Barinder Sran couldn't impress when they were provided opportunities and now the latest trialist is Khaleel Ahmed.

After impressing at the U19 level and putting in consistent performances at the domestic level, India gave him his first cap at the international level during the 2018 Asia Cup. Subsequently, he also played nine T20I matches for India. However, the 21-year-old couldn't make much of a positive impression and ended up on the expensive side on most of the occasions.

His rough period only worsened when he picked up an injury and remained on the bench during the first half of the IPL. However, Khaleel came back strongly with some cracking performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad to end up at the 5th spot in the wicket-takers list and this ensured that he will still be in the selectors' plans for the near future. He extracted a lot of bounce while also moving the ball enough to test the techniques of some of the best batsmen in the world.

Just like Rahul Chahar, Khaleel also added upon to his IPL exploits with good showings during India A's tour of the West Indies. India will hope that Khaleel can bring out his very best during the upcoming T20I series against the West Indies as the side starts its preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.