Khaled Ahmed

Khaled Ahmed is a Bangladeshi cricketer known for his role as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Born on September 20, 1992, in Sylhet, Khaled made his Test debut for Bangladesh in November 2018 against Zimbabwe. 

Khaled has primarily been a part of the longer format of the game, as Bangladesh’s fast-bowling reserves have often struggled to find consistency. His performances in domestic cricket, especially in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and first-class matches, have helped him stay in contention for a spot in the national team.

Khaled Ahmed Along the years 

Khaled Ahmed Career 

When Khaled Ahmed first started playing cricket, he was an expert with tape-tennis balls. He first learned about Rana Mia's cricket academy in Sylhet from his friend Imran Ali Enam, who would go on to become his first-class teammate. After this crucial turning point, Khaled made his first-class debut for the Sylhet Division a few years later, forming a potent fast bowling combination with Ebadat Chowdhury. In order to improve their fast bowling abilities, they took part in the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) fast bowling quest in 2015–16.

Khaled's big break came while playing for the Dhaka Dynamites in the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League. Even though he had trouble, taking just two wickets in four games, he recovered in the Dhaka Premier League of 2017–18, getting 17 wickets at an average of 34.70. The BCB was impressed by his performance, and in the summer of 2018, he was added to the High Performance side. His selection for the Bangladesh A team was made possible by this accomplishment, and he performed admirably there, taking ten wickets in an unofficial five-match ODI series against Ireland A.

Khaled's initial call-up to the senior national squad for a Test series against Zimbabwe proved to be a fruitful endeavor. By coincidence, this opportunity arrived shortly after he claimed his first-ever ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket, which proved to be instrumental in Sylhet's historic National Cricket League victory. 

Khaled Ahmed Domestic Career 

Ahmed first stepped onto the first-class stage for Sylhet Division in the 2015–16 National Cricket League on October 10, 2015. His impressive performance quickly caught the attention of selectors, leading him to make his List A debut for Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in the 2016–17 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League on May 5, 2017. 

Not long after, Ahmed expanded his repertoire by making his Twenty20 debut for Dhaka Dynamites on November 5, 2017, during the 2017–18 season of the Bangladesh Premier League.

During a match against Dhaka Metropolis in the 2018–19 National Cricket League, he accomplished his maiden ten-wicket haul. This remarkable achievement not only highlighted his capabilities as a bowler but also solidified his reputation as a formidable competitor in the domestic circuit.

Khaled Ahmed Franchise Career 

Khaled Ahmed started his career in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2017 for DHD. In his first BPL season, Khaled took only two wickets in four matches, due to which no team played him in the 2018 season. In 2019, Khaled Ahmed made a great comeback and took 17 wickets in thirteen matches for Chattogram Challengers at an economy of 7.76.

In the 2021-22 season, Khaled Ahmed was once again seen playing for Khulna Tigers in which he took 10 wickets in seven matches. In the 2023 BPL, while bowling in 10 matches for Fortune Barishals, Khaled took 9 wickets. Khaled took 10 wickets in seven matches for Fortune Barishals in the 2024 season of BPL. Khaled has played a total of 41 BPL matches so far, in which he has taken 48 wickets with an economy of 8.61.

Khaled Ahmed International career 

Ahmed garnered attention in August 2018, when he was one of the twelve new players chosen for Bangladesh's Asia Cup preliminary team. On November 11, 2018, he made his debut for his country on the international scene, after being selected for the Test squad for the series against Zimbabwe. A month later, he solidified his place in the national lineup when he was selected to play for Bangladesh in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

Ahmed's abilities allowed him to be selected for the Bangladesh Emerging Team for a home series against the Ireland Wolves in February 2021. As his reputation grew, the selectors were so confident in his talents that they included him in the preliminary Test squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in April 2021.

Ahmed's career reached a new height in March 2022, when he was called up to Bangladesh's One Day International (ODI) team for a series against South Africa. He obtained his maiden five-wicket haul in June 2022 in the second Test match against the West Indies, which was his breakthrough performance. 

Khaled Ahmed Test Career 

Khaled Ahmed started his test career on 11 November 2018 against Zimbabwe at Sher Bangla National Stadium. In the first innings, Khaled Ahmed bowled 18 balls and conceded 48 runs at an economy of 2.67, but was unable to take any wickets. Similarly, in the second innings, Khaled Ahmed bowled 12 balls and conceded 45 runs at an economy of 3.1 and failed to take any wickets.

Khaled Ahmed played his second test match against New Zealand on 28 February, 2019, at Seddon Park where he bowled in just one innings and conceded 149 runs in 30 overs at an economy of 4.97. Khaled Ahmed got his first international Test wicket on 4 December, 2021, against Pakistan at the Sher Bangla National Stadium, where he bowled in the first innings and conceded 49 runs in 17.3 overs at an economy of 2.800 and opened his account in the Test format by taking the wicket of Babar Azam.

Khaled Ahmed got a chance to make a comeback in the South Africa vs Bangladesh Test series in 2022, where he took four big wickets including South Africa captain Din Elgar in the first innings of the first Test match and also took his first four-wicket haul in the Test format.

In the second Test, he took three wickets in the first innings and one in the second innings to take 8 wickets in four innings of the two matches of the series.

Khaled did not get any wickets in the two-Test Matu series against Sri Lanka in 2022. However this year, Khaled proved his bowling prowess against the West Indies. He took a total of five wickets in the first match of this series, where he took two wickets in the first innings and three in the second innings. In the first innings of the second match itself, Khaled opened his claws and took his first five-wicket haul by dismissing five Bangladeshi batsmen. With this feat, Khaled Ahmed managed to take 10 wickets in the series.

After performing well in the Test series against the West Indies, Khaled Ahmed took 7 wickets in four innings in the two-Test Matu series against Sri Lanka in 2024. However, he did not take more than five wickets in any series. Khaled Ahmed has so far taken 28 wickets in 26 innings of 15 Test matches, in which he has one five-wicket haul and one four-wicket haul to his name.

Khaled Ahmed's ODI career 

Khaled Ahmed started his one-day career on 23 September 2023, against New Zealand at the Sher Bangla Stadium, where he took three wickets for 60 runs in 9.02 overs while bowling. In this series, Khaled Rahmat also played the second and last match of his one-day career. In this match, Khaled Ahmed bowled four overs and gave 12 runs at an economy of 5.4, but could not take any wicket, due to which he has not got the opportunity to play any one-day match, as of October 2024. Khaled Ahmed has played a total of two ODIs so far in which he has taken three wickets, which came in his debut match itself.