Delhi Capitals pacer likely to make Test debut during Border-Gavaskar Trophy, claims former coach

One of the former IPL coaches has claimed a Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer might make it to India’s Test squad for the Australia tour later this year. He feels the pacer might be ideal for the Indian team.

On ICC Review, Ricky Ponting, the coach of Delhi Capitals till IPL 2024, has stated Khaleel Ahmed should be part of India’s touring squad for the Test series down under. Due to his left-arm angle, Ponting feels Khaleel would be good for the visiting side on Australian decks.

“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.”

Also Read: Ricky Ponting predicts Australia to pip Team India 3-1 in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Ponting has worked closely with Khaleel in the last few years when he was the coach of Delhi Capitals, and the left-arm pacer has improved massively while playing for DC. Recently, he was in the reserves for the T20 World Cup 2024 and featured in the Sri Lanka T20 series.

Khaleel Ahmed yet to play in Tests for India

While Khaleel Ahmed has played for India in ODIs and T20Is, he hasn’t played in Tests yet. However, the 26-year-old has featured in 12 First Class matches, where he took 25 wickets at an average of 35.

It’s hard to see him finding a place in the Test side for such a massive series, given his limited experience in red-ball cricket. While the Australian decks offer more assistance to the pacers, they still need to have ample exposure to the nature of the surfaces on the Australian grounds.

There have also been calls to include Mayank Yadav in the squad. It will be interesting to see whether the selectors will make any big decisions.

India will look to make it a hattrick series win against Australia away from home and retain the coveted trophy. The five-match Test series will begin on November 22 in Perth and end with the Sydney Test in January.

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