When was the last time Khaleel Ahmed played for India before IND vs ZIM 1st T20I?

After nearly five years out of the senior setup, Indian pacer Khaleel Ahmed made his long-awaited comeback in the 1st T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday, July 6. The left-arm seamer was picked in India's 15-member squad for this five-match series on the back of a decent showing for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024.

He was also among the four travelling reserves named by the selectors for the T20 World Cup last month, which India went on to win.

Having made his international debut in 2018, Khaleel represented India in 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is prior to today. The last of his international appearances came in a T20 in 2019, post which he was discarded from the setup.

What happened the last time Khaleel played in Indian colours?

Khaleel Ahmed last played for India in the 3rd T20I against Bangladesh in 2019 at Nagpur. India were put into bat and had lost early wickets, before KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer scored vital half-centuries. Manish Pandey played an important cameo in the end overs which ensured that India finished with 174/5 in their 20 overs.

Bangladesh got off to a good start as Mohammad Naim scored his first half-century. The visitors were cruising towards a win before Deepak Chahar and Shivam Dube applied the breaks on their onslaught.

Both bowlers registered their best figures in this format, with Chahar picking up a hattrick and also surpassing Ajantha Mendis (6/8) to register the best figures (6/7) for a bowler in Men's T20Is.

Khaleel Ahmed opened the bowling and completed his full quota of overs. The southpaw bowled an excellent spell, conceding only 27 runs in his four overs. However, he was a tad unlucky and failed to pick up a wicket.

Khaleel was handed the new ball in the 1st T20I against Zimbabwe. At the time of writing this piece, Zimbabwe are 49 for 2 at the end of 7 overs.