Mahi bhai is not my friend, not my elder brother, he is my guru – Khaleel Ahmed

India’s fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed considers former Indian skipper MS Dhoni as his guru. Dhoni has been an inspiration to many players and Khaleel Ahmed is no different. Ahmed revealed he shares a great bonhomie with Dhoni and goes to him for advice.

Meanwhile, Ahmed was part of India’s reserves for the T20 World Cup. The left-arm seamer was then included on the tour of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

Ahmed went wicketless in the T20I series against Sri Lanka and picked up three wickets in as many games against Zimbabwe. Ahmed recalled an incident when Dhoni gave him flowers, which were gifted to him by Indian fans in New Zealand.

“We were in New Zealand, Mahi bhai’s fans had given him flowers, he passed it onto me and some fans took a photo, it was quite memorable for me,” Khaleel said on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube Channel.

Ahmed made his ODI debut in the Asia Cup 2018 against Hong Kong and returned with figures of 3-48 in his quota of 10 overs.

“Mahi bhai is not my friend, not my elder brother, he is my guru. Since my childhood I wanted to become the bowler who took the first over from India since I had watched Zaheer Khan growing up. In the Asia Cup, Mahi bhai, asked me to bowl the first over. I ran so hard, away from the huddle thinking that if I give it time he might change his mind,” Khaleel said sharing his experience.

On the other hand, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting recently said Khaleel Ahmed could be included in the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia.

“Someone like Khaleel Ahmed I think could find himself on the Test tour. A left-armer would be ideal for them to have in their touring squad. I know he’s just been over in Zimbabwe recently and played that (T20I) series over there, but a left-armer would be ideal for them to have in their touring squad,” Ponting said on the most recent edition of the ICC Review.

Ahmed has picked 25 wickets in 12 first-class matches at an average of 35 but he is yet to make his Test debut.