Analysing whether Khaleel Ahmed should be playing against Pakistan

Hong Kong came perilously close to upsetting India in the 4th match of the Asia Cup. Hats off to their indomitable spirit. First, their bowlers pulled back India from a comfortable position at 240 for 2 in the 41st over to 285 for 7 in 50 overs. The last 10 overs produced just 48 runs for India for the loss of 5 wickets. Then the Hong Kong openers put on 174 runs before the middle order caved in. The result could have been different had Hong Kong had some experience in the middle-order.

For India, apart from Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayadu and the wrist-spinners, the one performance that stood out was the refreshing performance of the debutant left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed. The 20-year fast bowler was fast-tracked into international cricket straight from the under-19 team. He had played only 2 first-class matches and 18 List A matches before his International debut against Hong Kong.

Ahmed gave away 16 runs in his first spell of 3 overs. Then he came back for his second spell immediately after the second drinks break in the 34 over when the Hong Kong openers were going great guns. Hong Kong at that stage were 167 for no loss. He gave away 7 runs in that over. Kuldeep Yadav bowled the 35th over and off the very first ball gave the all-important breakthrough for India by dismissing the Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath for 73.

Now for Hong Kong, everything depended on the other opener Nizakat Khan who was batting brilliantly on 92. India needed his wicket. It was Khaleel Ahmed who took Nizakat Khan’s wicket as his first international wicket.

Coming from around the wicket, Ahmed trapped Khan with a length ball and the umpire’s finger went up. A tactical review by Khan confirmed the on-field umpire’s verdict. India were back in the game. Khaleel Ahmed went on to take two more wickets to finish with 3 for 48 in his 10 overs.

Khaleel Ahmed’s debut performance has brought about a new debate as to whether Ahmed should be playing against Pakistan on Wednesday. Khaleel Ahmed impressed one and all with his pace, angle and subtle pace variation. The question is whether his good performance against minnows Hong Kong should be given too much importance to select him for the all-important match against Pakistan.

The factors favouring Khaleel Ahmed’s selection

# Khaleel Ahmed is a left-arm fast bowler who is a rare commodity in the present Indian team. He can offer different variety and his angle can cause problems to the Pakistani batsmen.

# Khaleel Ahmed is an unknown quantity and he can be the X-factor for Team India. The Pakistani batsmen are not familiar with Ahmed.

# As he is new to international cricket, he comes without any past scare and baggage to pull down his performance. He can play with an uncluttered mind.

# From the evidence of his debut, Ahmed can surprise the batsmen with his pace. He is definitely faster than someone like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

# India’s group match against Pakistan on Wednesday is an inconsequential affair. No match involving India and Pakistan can be termed inconsequential as a lot of pride, passion and prestige is at stake. But from the perspective of the format of the current edition of Asia Cup, teams don’t carry forward points from their group stages to the next super 4s stages.

Besides, India and Pakistan have already qualified for the super 4s stages by virtue of their win against Hong Kong. The match on Wednesday will be only a dress rehearsal for the super 4s and perhaps the final. This match would be the ideal match to test Khaleel Ahmed’s quality against a better opponent like Pakistan. This match will give an answer to the question whether Khaleel Ahmed belongs here.

Who should be dropped to accommodate Khaleel Ahmed?

On India’s bowling front, both Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to come back for the Pakistan Match. Bumrah and the wrist-spinners are indispensable for the team. That leaves with only Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Hardik Pandya, being an all-rounder, moves ahead of Kumar. Moreover replacing Hardik Pandya with Khaleel Ahmed will weaken the batting and hence not advisable.

That left with only Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvi was not at his best and a little bit rusty against Hong Kong. After his injury lay-off, his rhythm was missing and he went wicketless. Besides, the pitches in U.A.E are not conducive to his type of swing bowling. Hence, the perfect option would be to play Khaleel Ahmed against Pakistan on Wednesday in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

If Khaleel Ahmed clicks, it augurs well for India in the rest of the matches of the Asia Cup. If he doesn’t, the option is always open for India to go back to the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the more significant games in the super 4s stages.

The Indian team management can take a gamble in the inconsequential group game against Pakistan by selecting Khaleel Ahmed ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Ahmed could be the next Zaheer Khan for India.