‘’My father thrashed me with belt which left marks’ – Young pacer from Delhi franchise shares horrifying story from his childhood

The 16th edition of the Indian T20 League is all set to begin in a couple of days. Fans will be excited to see their favourite players from across the world gearing up for the lucrative tournament. It will be a great opportunity for many young Indian cricketers to mark their arrival in competitive cricket.

The young left-arm pacer, Khaleel Ahmed will be seen in action for the Delhi franchise in the upcoming tournament. The 25-year-old recently shared a story from childhood where he said how difficult was it for him to convince his parents to pursue his career in cricket. He also mentioned how his father thrashed him with the blet which left marks on his body.

“I have three older sisters, and my father was a compounder in the Tonk district. So when father used to go for his job, I had to do house chores like get the groceries, milk. However, I used to go to play in between, which meant that household work would remain incomplete,” said Khaleel during an interaction with Aakash Chopra on Jio Cinema.

“My mother would complain about it to my father, who would look at me and ask me where I was . I used to be on the ground. He used to be very angry because I didn’t study or do any work. He thrashed me with belt too, which would leave marks on my body. My sisters would treat those wounds at night,” he further added.

‘Once I progressed a bit in cricket he started supporting me’ – Khaleel

Khaleel also mentioned that his father wanted him to become a doctor but eventually started supporting him when he started to make a progress in the game. He said that his father spent his pension for him to go ahead in sports.

“My father was a compounder, so he wanted me to become a doctor, or do something in that field. He just wanted to ensure that I don’t face any difficulties in the future. Once I progressed a bit in cricket he started supporting me. He told me to play cricket and said his pension would take care of me if I failed to make a career out of it,” Khaleel said.

The Indian pacer also mentioned how his family got emotional after he got featured in the newspapers after a great season for Rajasthan U-14 taking 21 wickets from four games.

“The shift happened when I was selected to represent Rajasthan in U-14. I picked up around 21 wickets in four matches and also got featured in the newspapers. I gave the allowances that I got to my family, which is when they got emotionally connected after seeing these things,” he added.

The 16th edition of the Indian T20 League will kickstart on March 31 with a match bettween Gujarat and Chennai in Ahmedabad. Delhi will begin their 2023 campaign with a match agaisnt Lucknow on April 1st.