VIDEO | Khaleel Ahmed innovates unique send-offs to avoid ICC fine
Despite being fairly new to international cricket, Khaleel Ahmed has already understood the importance of not being carried away in the moment. However, he found an innovative way to give send-offs to batsmen which not only saves him from ICC fine but also sets an example for others.
The Rajasthan pacer was impressive with the ball in today's T20I in Auckland and was able to move the ball both ways to trouble the Kiwi lower-order. His moment under the sun came in the last over of the innings when he dismissed Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee to restrict the hosts to a paltry total of 158 runs.
To Santner, he bowled a wide yorker outside of off stump and although the batsman tried to drill hard through cover, his balance and the feet weren't there for the shot and the off stump was shattered to give Khaleel his first wicket of the evening. After the tough game that he had endured in Wellington, Khaleel was understandably ecstatic by that and wanted to give Santner a mini send-off. However, he was aware of the fact that the match referee wouldn’t take that lightly and that’s why he gave it a waist-high “bye-bye” gesture, but with a smile on his face, which hid the fact that he was intentionally giving a send-off to the player.
Four balls later, which was also the last ball of the innings, Tim Southee failed to understand Khaleel’s slower ball and while trying to slog across the line, the ball hit the top of middle stump. It was the end of the innings, and Khaleel again failed to control himself. However, this time, he found another way to celebrate. He signaled the same “bye-bye” gesture to the sky before returning back to the dressing room. It was quite an innovating way of celebrating a wicket, and Khaleel was so intelligent to duck ICC fine as well.