The Indian pacer Khaleel Ahmed recently appeared on the YouTube channel of the former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra and he shared insights into his relationship with the former Indian captain MS Dhoni, describing Mahi as his ‘guru’. Dhoni is widely celebrated as one of the greatest skippers of team India, being the only one to have won all ICC white-ball trophies, including the ODI World Cup (2011), T20 World Cup (2007) and Champions Trophy (2013).
When Aakash Chopra asked the left-hand pacer Khaleel Ahmed to tell about his relationship with the former skipper MS Dhoni, Khaleel said, “It’s not friendship, (he’s) not an elder brother. It’s that of a guru (teacher).”
Aakash Chopra asked Khaleel about some of his viral Instagram pictures including the one where he is receiving a bouquet from Dhoni. Khaleel explained the story behind the photo, saying, “We were in New Zealand, walking from the main ground to the practice area. Mahi bhai’s fans gave him flowers during the walk. I was walking next to him, and he handed the bouquet to me. Someone clicked the picture, and I really love it.”
Khaleel also talked about his biggest dream and said that he wants to open bowling for India. He said, “The biggest dream of my life has been open the bowling for India. I have bowled the second over but first over…Zak (Zaheer Khan) bhai also used to bowl the first over. So during Asia Cup (2018), Mahi bhai captained a match against Afghanistan. At the team huddle, he said it’s hot today, I will give short spells and bowl accordingly. And then he said ‘Khaleel, start from there’. I rushed towards where the umpire was standing midway through the huddle to avoid any chance of him (Dhoni) rethinking his plan. I still want to open bowling for India because in my mind the most important bowler starts the proceedings.”
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Khaleel who made his India debut back in 2018 recently returned to international cricket during the T20I series in Zimbabwe. Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, who has worked closely with Khaleel as the head coach of the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals, has expressed confidence in Khaleel’s potential to be included in India’s squad for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy.
