“Getting picked for the World Cup will ease pressure,” Khaleel Ahmed

The road ahead

The upcoming series against West Indies will be an important one for left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. After having shown off hi skills and impressing the team management in the Asia Cup, he now wants to secure a spot in the World Cup 2019 squad. On his debut in the Asia Cup, he managed to impress captain Rohit Sharma with his ability to swing the ball at a good pace.

After making his international debut at the Asia Cup, Khaleel Ahmed is hoping to force his way into India's plans for next year's @cricketworldcup.

➡️ https://t.co/nRVKKk9nCJ pic.twitter.com/saABv8PR47

— ICC (@ICC) October 19, 2018

There are only 18 matches left to play before India faces off against South Africa on June 5^th in their first match of the World Cup. Khaleel told reporters on Sunday, before India’s first ODI against West Indies, that he is preparing for the World Cup and wants to take as many wickets as he can before the World Cup to boost his confidence. He also said that if he is picked for the World Cup, it will relieve some of the pressure on him.

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The pressure

Khaleel also thanked Zaheer Khan for his advice. He played with Delhi Daredevils for 2 years and in that time, he received a lot of advice from mentor Zaheer Khan on how to bowl on different surfaces, as both had played in different conditions.

India’s 12-man squad for the first ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed#INDvWI

— . (@Aamirian_thug) October 20, 2018

He had felt a lot of pressure then and even ahead of his debut in the Asia Cup against Hong Kong he felt nervous. However, after excellent figures of 3 for 48, he felt confident that he could go further.

Khaleel also recalled that seniors on his team had never made him feel like just a newcomer. He said that everyone keeps talking to him to help boost his confidence.