Credit: BCCI
Star Indian pacer Khaleel Ahmed has decided to end his stint with Essex County Cricket Club earlier than expected, due to personal reasons. The 27-year-old, who has been a part of India’s white-ball setup in his young career, played only a couple of matches in the County Championship 2025 season for Essex, taking just four wickets at an average of 64.50 before leaving them just a few short weeks after joining them for an extended stint.
It is important to note that Khaleel Ahmed was supposed to play for Essex for two months, which would have led to him taking part in six County Championship matches apart from a possible 10 One-Day Cup matches, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. But now, it won’t happen because of an undisclosed situation, which has led to Khaleel Ahmed returning home to India, putting a question mark of what’s next for him and when, in regards to cricket.
We fully support Khaleel's decision and are grateful for the contributions he made: Essex
The official statement from Essex on Khaleel Ahmed’s departure read, “While we are disappointed to see him leave, we fully support Khaleel's decision and are grateful for the contributions he made during his time with us.” Regardless, he hasn’t done any harm to his reputation in red-ball cricket, and with the Indian cricket team expected to bolster their fast bowling attack in Test cricket in the near future, he might get called up by the selectors on the back of some good performances.
In his first-class career, Khaleel Ahmed has played 22 matches thus far, taking 60 wickets at an average of 30.13, with most of them for his state side Rajasthan. He is expected to be part of the side in the Ranji Trophy in the upcoming red-ball season season, apart from potentially getting selected for the inter-zonal Duleep Trophy, which is slated to begin on August 28, to kick-off the Indian domestic season 2025-26.
