India fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed has returned to India from England, ending his county cricket stint with Essex after playing only two matches.

According to the club’s statement, the pacer has left for India due to personal reasons. He recently joined Essex and was expected to play a major role in the remainder of the season, but his time there was cut short.

He played only two first class matches making some impact picking four wickets. However, his bowling average was on the higher side at 64.50 runs per wicket.

“Essex Cricket can confirm that Khaleel Ahmed has made the decision to return home for personal reasons and will be ending his time with the Club,” said the club in a statement.

While we are disappointed to see him leave, we fully support Khaleel’s decision and are grateful for the contributions he made during his time with us.”

Khaleel is supposed to part of the camp until September to play six first class matches, and 10 games in One-day cup.

Before heading to England, he was in good form delivering a solid performance for India A picking four wickets for 70 runs in the red-ball game against England.

He also had a successful stint in the IPL 2025 season playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Since 2024, he has taked 45 wickets in 12 games with an impressive average of 22.9 and a strike rate of 41.2. His pull out from County stint comes after Ruturaj Gaikwad pulled out of Country contract with Yorkshire last week.

Essex will be adjusting the squad as they set to continue their County Championship Campaign. Essex will play their next game against Warwickshire on July 29 at County Cricket Ground.