Essex announce singing of CSK pacer, bowler to represent county till end of 2025 season

Essex have announced the signing of star Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and India pacer Khaleel Ahmed until the end of the 2025 season.

Essex announced the signing through a post on X (formerly Twitter). Khaleel Ahmed was recently in England, playing for India A against the England Lions. He played the second unofficial Test and bagged four wickets in the first innings.

Khaleel is not a part of the Indian team playing the Test series in England and was hence available to be signed. He is yet to make his Test debut for India but has played 20 first-class matches and has picked up 56 wickets. The left-arm pacer has played 11 ODIs and 18 T20Is for India. He has picked up 15 wickets and 16 wickets respectively in the formats.

He displayed impressive form for CSK in the IPL 2025 season as well. Khaleel picked up 15 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 29.80.

Essex to play all three formats in remainder of 2025 season

Essex will play matches across all three formats in the remainder of the 2025 season, making the addition of Khaleel Ahmed a valuable one. The left-arm pacer has been a wicket-taking option across formats.

Currently, Essex are playing in the 2025 County Championship Division One with their next game against Yorkshire on June 29. They will then play six matches in the Vitality Blast, England's premier domestic T20 competiton.

They will then play two more County Championship Division One matches before starting their One Day Cup campaign against Notts Outlaws on August 5. They will play eight One Day Cup matches before returning once again to play three more County Championship Division One matches.

Their most recent County Championship Division One match against Hampshire resulted in a draw. Essex have played eight matches already and have managed to win just one game with five defeas and a loss. With 85 points, they are currently placed eighth on the table.

Many Indian players such as Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, and Shardul Thakur have represented Essex in the past.

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava