||CF Correspondent||

Fast bowler Khaled Ahmed is one of the four uncapped players that Bangladesh named in the Test squad for their series against Zimbabwe. The pacer was the part of the country’s High Performance (HP) Unit but fast-tracked to the national team following Bangladesh A’s tour of Ireland in which he troubled the batsmen with his raw pace and ability to move the ball in both ways.

Khaled’s performance in the National Cricket League has also been remarkable. Playing for Sylhet Division, who experienced a lot of rain-marred days in the tournament, Khaled bagged a ten-wicket haul against Dhaka Metro, helping his team earn their only win in the competition so far.

Though in the domestic circuit, no speed meter is used to assess the bowler’s pace, Khaled is believed to clock over 140 km/h consistently.

The 26-year-old impressed the Tigers’ head-coach Steve Rhodes, who was looking for taller fast-bowlers, in the two intra-squad matches of the High Performance (HP) Unit in September. Both of them also had a one-on-one session after the T20 assignments of the HP Unit.

“I have been very impressed with Khaled, especially when he joined us in this Test’s preparation. He has come on the back of a 10-wicket haul in domestic cricket, which is a fine effort on a flat wicket. He has height. He hits the wicket. He is definitely the type of bowler who will bowl well in most conditions,” said Rhodes.