credits: IPL/X
The highly anticipated IPL 2025 mega auction, which will decide the fate of 577 shortlisted players, is currently underway at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With just 204 slots up for grabs, including 70 overseas ones, only a select few out of 367 Indian and 210 overseas players will be picked by the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams for the 2025 season. Khaleel Ahmed, who is one of the sought-after Indian players in the mega auction, has been signed by Chennai Super Kings for INR 4.80 Crore.
Chennai Super Kings bid for Khaleel Ahmed right from the beginning and engaged in a neck-to-neck war with Lucknow Super Kings. However, the five-time IPL champions outbid their competitors and acquired services of the medium-pacer by paying INR 4.80 Crore. His former franchise Delhi Capitals refused to use RTM card for the bowler.
Khaleel Ahmed's IPL Career
The left-arm medium pacer from Tonk, Rajasthan, has an impressive IPL career. He started his journey in 2018 with SRH. However, he was part of the DC team in the 2016-17 IPL season and was bought for Rs 10 lakhs. The Hyderabad franchise paid a hefty bid price of Rs 3 crore for Khaleel Ahmed in the IPL 2018 auction. In the IPL Mega Auction 2022, the Delhi franchise offered the highest fee for Khaleel Ahmed, INR 5.25 crore, and secured his services for the season. Post IPL 2024 season, DC released Khaleel, and now his base price is Rs 2 crore.
The IPL 2019 season was quite great for Khaleel when he took 19 wickets while appearing in 9 matches with an average of 15.10. Again in 2022 and 2024, he took 16 and 17 wickets, respectively. Overall, in 54 IPL games, he took 74 wickets with an average of 25.42.
