IPL 2019: 5 players who could be a surprise entry into the World Cup squad

#2 Khaleel Ahmed

New Zealand v India - International T20 Game 3

Khaleel Ahmed is one of the latest entrants in Team India. He burst onto the scene in September 2018 when he made his debut against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup. He impressed everyone in the match and ended the match with a figure of 3 for 48.

Since then, Khaleel has been tried out in quite a number of matches both in the ODIs and the T20s. He was also a part of the team that toured Australia and New Zealand. He got to play in one match each in both the countries and failed to pick any wicket in the ODIs. So far, he has played 8 ODIs for Team India and picked up 11 wickets.

Team India has got a significant pace trio of Bumrah, Shami and Bhuvi but still, there is a place for the 4th seamer. Even if Hardik Pandya is selected in the team, it looks like India will need a 4th seamer just to balance the workload. All the fast bowlers in the Indian bowling line-up are right armers and so Khaleel being a left armer just brings in some variety in the attack.

Khaleel Ahmed has shown that he has got the ability to move the ball both ways but he has just struggled to do it consistently. He has got Umesh Yadav as his competitor for the 4th bowler spot. To get the place in the team ahead of Umesh, who has done well in the past, Khaleel must have a magnificent IPL 2019.