A left-arm medium-pace bowler, Mohammad Khalil had played only six first-class matches when he was drafted into the Pakistan squad for the Test series against Bangladesh in 2003-04. Three of those six matches were in the previous season, when he took 14 wickets. He did not get his opportunity against Bangladesh but made his Test debut against Australia in December 2004. He went wicketless in his first two Tests and was dropped from the side. After a strong performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in the 2010-11 season, he received a recall to the squad, replacing injured seamer Junaid Khan for the 2011-12 tour of Bangladesh.