Khaleel Ahmed opens up about his experience in the Indian T20 league following his exclusion from the World Cup squad.

Earlier this year, Khaleel Ahmed was firmly in the running for a spot as India's third seamer for the World Cup. His strong domestic showing against the West Indies had put him in a great position; all he needed were a few solid performances during the subsequent trips to Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, the resurgence of Mohammad Shami, coupled with Khaleel's own struggle to keep runs down during his limited outings on those tours, effectively ended his hopes of making the final cut.

Being left out of the World Cup squad seems to have served as a wake-up call for Khaleel, and he's channeling that frustration into some incredible form for Hyderabad in the Indian T20 League. Despite only playing seven matches—six fewer than Rashid Khan—Khaleel is now tied for the most wickets in the team with 14. Interestingly, he didn't even start the season in the playing XI. It was only after Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma struggled that the management gave him another shot, and he has fully justified their trust with a series of dominant spells.

Khaleel is currently boasting the second-best strike rate of the season at 12.00. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar focusing more on restriction than wicket-taking, Hyderabad desperately needed a genuine breakthrough bowler, and Khaleel has stepped up perfectly to fill that role.

His overall efficiency has also been top-tier. For bowlers who have faced at least 100 balls this season, Khaleel ranks third with an impressive average of 16.14. While his economy rate of 8.07 isn't the lowest, his primary value has been his consistent ability to take crucial wickets.His overall efficiency has also been top-tier. For bowlers who have faced at least 100 balls this season, Khaleel ranks third with an impressive average of 16.14. While his economy rate of 8.07 isn't the lowest, his primary value has been his consistent ability to take crucial wickets.

In fact, there has been a wide gap in quality between his performances and that of the other Hyderabad pacers. Most of them have struggled to pick up wickets both with the new ball and at the death. Khaleel meanwhile has been successful in both of those aspects. He has three 3-wicket hauls in the seven matches he has played so far and that in itself gives an idea about the impact he has created on the team.

The upcoming match against Bangalore is a do-or-die match for Hyderabad. Their playoff qualification chances depend on the result of that match. So Khaleel’s performance will once again be of utmost importance to the team in such a crunch match.