Boria Majumdar
In an age of instant gratification and white-ball madness, Khaleel Ahmed comes across as a breath of fresh air. To see someone as obsessed to play red-ball cricket felt good. Khaleel has talent. We have all seen that. What he lacked was consistency and for a period he suffered from multiple injuries.
As always, the comeback was hard. He struggled to get a hold on things and was lost for a period. “I did not know what to do,” said Khaleel. “How to make a comeback, what all I needed to do. It was difficult. Now I have the experience and I can bowl with the old ball as well, and bowl long spells. Playing red-ball cricket for India is the only thing that keeps me going. Aap pagalpan keh sakte ho, par yeh hi ek cheez hai jo mujhe har din drive karta hai (you can call it madness, but this is one thing that drives me).”
The truth is India need a left-arm fast bowler. Arshdeep Singh is there in the ranks and will surely make his Test debut sooner rather than later. But Khaleel will not be far behind. He has the pace and the ability to move the ball both ways, and if he has developed the ability to bowl long spells, we know how valuable that can be. Mohammed Siraj in England stands as a testimony.
For a period India had a crop of fast bowlers who could step up whenever needed. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav — the cupboard was full. Winning in Australia in 2018-19 and thereafter in 2020-21 was made possible because we had a fantastic crop and also able back-up. That’s what had dried out for a period. In the absence of Bumrah (in the final Test), India struggled in Australia last winter. In England, Siraj shouldered the bulk of the responsibility with Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna stepping up on occasions. But we need more and that’s where Khaleel becomes relevant.
“After a point, people will forget IPL performances. Red-ball is still the format which every one will remember for a lifetime. It is an obsession with me. To play Test cricket for India. Wearing that white shirt and standing in the team huddle, and with the ball in hand trying to make a difference for the team. I played county cricket to gain experience. I now know that I can do it for India and I hope I get an opportunity. At my end, I will keep working hard and not miss a single game,” said Khaleel.
The humility, and the commitment, was coming through, and the truth is it felt good to see someone as desperate to play red-ball cricket.
“Paagalpan”, that’s what we are back to. Had Siraj not shown it in England, India wouldn’t have won at The Oval. Had Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar not shown it in Manchester, England would be 3-1 up. Elite high-performance sport is always about this madness. The drive from within that pushes an athlete to try things that aren’t really normal. That’s what Khaleel needs to keep doing. And after speaking to him, it seems to me that he is not one to give up before he reaches his goal. All the very best to him.
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