Ignored by national selectors for a place in the Test team for the five-match series against England, Khaleel Ahmed has returned to the country to play county cricket. Khaleel, who was part of the India A squad before the start of the Test series, will play for Gautam Gambhir's ex-team, Essex, in county cricket. Khaleel will be available to play the complete season. He will play county championship matches and one-day championship matches for the county team. Khaleel will make his debut for Essex when they face Yorkshire from June 29 to July 2.

Talking of Gambhir, he played for Essex when he was eyeing a return to Team India. The present India head coach might closely follow Khaleel's performance as he could always be called up to the national team if Team India needs a replacement player.

Khaleel's presence in the India A squad during the unofficial Test series hints that he is in the scheme of things in red-ball cricket. He is uncapped in the format.

Khaleel has played 11 ODIs and 12 T20Is since his debut in the 2018 Asia Cup. He last played for Team India on the Sri Lanka tour in 2024. He wasn't part of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team but travelled with the team as a reserve player. He played for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025.

After playing the county game against Yorkshire, there's a break and Khaleel will make his on-field return on July 22, when Essex take on Sussex. They will next face Warwickshire from July 29 to August 1. The action will move to white-ball action after this game.

The league matches of the one-day championship will be played from August 5 to 26. The two semi-finals will be played on August 31 while the final will be played on September 20. Khaleel will return to red-ball cricket on September 8 and play 3 more matches (one will be played after the one-day cup final).