Since the start of IPL 2019, his first full season in IPL, Khaleel Ahmed picks up a wicket every 16.5 balls - a rate similar to that of Jasprit Bumrah. Among those with 50+ wickets in this period, only four bowlers top Khaleel's strike rate - Andre Russell, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammed Shami. Yet, Khaleel often flies under the radar, reflected in his recent auction price of INR 4.80 crores when the other aforementioned bowlers all came at costs north of INR 8 crores.
IPL 2025
Data Shorts: Khaleel Ahmed's quiet dominance
Khaleel Ahmed had another strong outing in a forgettable CSK performance. © BCCI
Russell, Harshal, and Rabada have a high proportion of their wickets at the death where they are comparatively cheaper to come by. In comparison, Khaleel has picked up 30 in the Powerplay and 36 at the death, numbers comparable to that of Shami (45 in Powerplay and 54 at death).
Best strike rate in IPL since 2019
| Player | SR | Wkts | ER |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD Russell | 11.5 | 75 | 10.05 |
| HV Patel | 14.8 | 98 | 8.82 |
| K Rabada | 15.3 | 113 | 8.50 |
| Mohammed Shami | 16.4 | 109 | 8.22 |
| KK Ahmed | 16.5 | 82 | 8.69 |
| JJ Bumrah | 16.5 | 102 | 6.89 |
Left-arm seamers who can move the new ball are gold in T20s - especially those who can do so from traditionally defensive good lengths or shorter. Add to that Khaleel's 140-kph pace and his ability to seamlessly switch angles of attack, and you have a complete package.
He's struck in the first over in three of four games this season - more than any other bowler. His scalps? Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Jake Fraser-McGurk
Against Rohit, he angled the first three balls across and got the fourth to swing back into the batter, who mistimed one to short mid-wicket. Against Yashasvi, after getting driven through the covers the first ball for four, he pulled the length back by a couple of meters and got one to swing back to the batter to catch the inside half of the bat as the batter spooned a catch to mid-off. To Fraser-McGurk, he stayed around the 10 meter mark using the natural angle to shape it away. After four dots balls, the fifth ball was the fullest of the lot and the one that swung the most as the batter miscued a hack across the line and found the mid-on fielder.
Khaleel has stayed good length or beyond for 75% of the balls in the Powerplay this season thus far, similar to Mitchell Starc who sits joint-second on the season's PowerPlay wicket charts, one behind Shardul Thakur.
Khaleel across phases in IPL 2025
| - | Overs | Wkts | Avg | SR | ER | Dot % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overs 1-6 | 11 | 4 | 19.00 | 16.5 | 6.91 | 57.5% |
| Overs 7-15 | 1 | 0 | NA | NA | 4.00 | 50.0% |
| Overs 16-20 | 4 | 4 | 10.00 | 6.0 | 10.00 | 33.3% |
Khaleel by lengths in Powerplay
| Length | Balls | Runs | Wkts | Avg | SR | ER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 6 | 19 | 0 | NA | NA | 19.00 |
| Good | 23 | 15 | 3 | 5.00 | 7.7 | 3.91 |
| Short | 38 | 41 | 1 | 41.00 | 38.0 | 6.47 |
Its not just with the new ball, Khaleel has added value to CSK this season as he has been equally effective at the death. He has picked up four wickets at the death proving to be a perfect foil for the death overs doyen in Matheesha Pathirana. Khaleel has again used the angle across right handers and bowled off cutters to get it further away from the hitting arc. Each of his four victims at the death this season have been right handers and three of those have come via off-cutters.
It's been a stuttering start to CSK's 2025 campaign. But amid the chaos, one constant source of quality has been Khaleel Ahmed, delivering up front, at the end, and often without the acclaim he richly deserves.
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© Cricbuzz
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