Kaleemullah Khan

Khan Research Laboratories

Early years

Khan made his Pakistan Premier League debut for Afghan Chaman in the 2008–09 season. KRL scouted him in a match against the team in 2009 when he came as a substitute and decided to sign him along with his fellow midfielder Mehmood Khan. He made his debut with KRL on 27 July 2009 in a 3–0 win against PAF F.C., scoring his first goal in the 69th minute. He finished the 2009-10 season with 4 goals in all competitions, as the club won the league and Challenge Cup, and qualified for the AFC President's Cup. During the 2010-11 season, Khan was soon promoted to the first team by KRL manager Sajjad Mehmood. Khan was an important player in KRL's Challenge Cup-winning squad of the 2010-11 season, scoring the second goal of the 4–0 win against Pakistan Navy in the cup final. Khan also made his debut AFC President's Cup on 10 May 2010 in a 2–1 win against Naga Corp from Cambodia, scoring both the goals in the continental club competition. Khan won the Pakistan Premier League with Khan Research Laboratories in 2012 as KRL set a Pakistan Premier League record scoring the most points in a season in the Pakistan Premier League with 77 points. Khan also won the Challenge Cup with KRL (1–0) against rivals K-Electric in 2011.

2012–13 season

During the 2012-13 season, he became involved in the first-team under then manager Tariq Lutfi who replaced manager Sajjad Mahmood the previous season; Khan established himself as a key…

2010–2015

Khan represented Pakistan at various youth levels, starting with the under-23s in 2010. He was called up to the under-23 team for the 2010 Asian Games making his debut in a 6–0 group stage defeat against Thailand. The following year, he represented the Olympic under-23 team in a test series against Palestine. With less opportunity to try out new players, and with the national team facing crucial 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification, Pakistan manager Tariq Lutfi felt that Khan was needed at the national level. He was called in the senior squad and earned his first senior cap for Pakistan in a 0–3 loss against Turkmenistan on 21 March 2011 at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification. Throughout the year, he later featured at the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification, 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2011 SAFF Championship. At the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification he scored his first international goal against Macau as Pakistan won the match 2–0 on 21 March 2013. He also scored against Bangladesh at the 2013 SAFF Championship in a 2–1 victory, and the opening goal against Philippines at the Philippine Peace Cup in the eventual 1–3 defeat. In 2014, Khan was named captain for the national team for a tour to Lebanon, where he scored the lone goal during a friendly against the Lebanon national team in the eventual 1–3 defeat. Khan also captained the under-23 team at the 2014 Asian Games, and also toured India with the under-23 side recording a goal in…

Khan is known for being an attacking all-rounder, capable of playing in different forward positions. As he came through the youth system of Young Afghan, he was seen primarily as a left back, often pushing forward to support the attack, which later led to his transition into midfield and then into more advanced roles. After joining Khan Research Laboratories, he shifted his position as a winger and later as centre forward. He has also played on occasions as midfielder. Khan has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning. He has been compared with Lionel Messi due to his goal scoring record by the local media in Pakistan.

Belonging to the Achakzai tribe of ethnic Pashtuns, Khan was born in the city of Chaman, in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. He started playing for his school team, the Government High School Chaman. In the beginning, his parents were not supportive of his interest in the sport due to the lack of football support and infrastructure in the country, but agreed to it when he signed a contract with the club Afghan Chaman.