Youth career As a young player, Khabra began his career at the
Tata Football Academy before signing his first professional contract with
National Football League (later
I-League) club
Sporting Clube de Goa.
Sporting Goa Khabra began playing for Sporting Clube de Goa in the
2006–07 NFL season. He scored two goals for the team in his debut match against Army XI in the
IFA Shield on 19 December 2006. Sporting Goa won 0–4. Sporting Goa progressed through to the final of the
Federation Cup that season and met
Mohun Bagan on 30 December 2006. Khabra scored Sporting's only goal, but they lost the match in a
penalty shoot-out when it ended in a tie after 90 minutes. Khabra had a perfect debut campaign winning the 2006
Durand Cup award for the most promising player of the year. He found the net for the last time for Sporting Goa on 15 November 2008 against
East Bengal, in a match that ended 3–1 in East Bengal's favour.
East Bengal On 30 April 2009, it was announced that Khabra had signed with I-League side
East Bengal ahead of the
2009–10 I-League season. Khabra played in the
2009–10 Federation Cup final against
Shillong Lajong FC on 3 January 2010. In the penalty shoot-out, Khabra missed his chance, but East Begal won 0–3, when Sanju Pradhan found the net in the last take of the match. Khabra made his continental debut during the
2010 AFC Cup while playing for East Bengal. He played his debut continental match as a substitute for
Nirmal Chettri on 10 March 2010 against
Al-Ittihad Club, which ended in a 1–4 loss for East Bengal. He was part of the team that won the
2011 Indian Super Cup. He then represented East Bengal once in the
2011 AFC Cup against
Persipura Jayapura on 10 May 2011, which drew 1–1 at full-time. Khabra was on the bench for the
2012 IFA Shield final against
United SC on 16 March 2012. The match went goalless for 120 minutes. East Bengal emerged champions after winning the penalty shootout 4–2. Khabra also played in the
2012 AFC Cup, where he started his campaign on 6 March 2012 in a 0–1 defeat of
Al-Oruba FC. Khabra scored his debut goal for the club on 10 November 2012 against
Air India FC, which East Bengal won 0–3 thanks to his
brace. In the
Kolkata Derby against Mohun Bagan on 9 December, in front of a crowd of 100,000, Khabra scored the opening goal of the match. Unfortunately, the match was abandoned when violence broke out between the spectators. Khabra won his last silverware of the season, when East Bengal defeated
Dempo SC in the
final of
2012 Federation Cup on 30 September 2012 by a score of 3–2. Khabra was appreciated by pundits and the media for his performance in the 2012–13 season. After the
2012–13 I-League campaign, he was made captain of the club before the new season. He made his first appearance as captain against
Selangor FA on 27 February 2013 in the
2013 AFC Cup, which ended 1–0 to East Bengal. East Bengal went on to play the
semi-finals of that AFC Cup season. Khabra featured for them in the first leg of the semi-final on 1 October 2013 against
Kuwait SC, which they lost 4–2. He was benched for the second leg on 22 October, which they lost 3–0, resulting in their elimination by an aggregate score of 7–2. After the AFC Cup, he was back on pitch with East Bengal for the 2013–14 I-League season in the match against
Bengaluru FC on 26 October in a 2–0 victory. Khabra was a member of the East Bengal squad that won the 2013–14 Calcutta Premier Division. After the end of the I-League campaign, during the pre-season, Khabra was sent on loan to the newly formed
Indian Super League club
Chennaiyin FC to take part in the
inaugural season of the league, after being selected by the team from the domestic players' draft. At the end of the season, he returned to East Bengal for the
2014–15 I-League season. Khabra missed the season's early matches because of an injury. After returning, he scored his first goal of the season on 11 April 2015 in a 2–3 victory over
Pune FC. He played his first match of the
2015 AFC Cup for East Bengal on 28 April against
Johor Darul Ta'zim FC as a substitute for
Baljit Sahni, which ended in a 0–1 defeat for East Bengal. After the 2014–15 I-League season, Khabra returned to Chennaiyin FC for his second year as loanee at the club for the
2015 ISL season. After finishing the 2015 ISL, he returned to East Bengal to play his last season for the club in the
2015–16 I-League season. He played his last match against Shillong Lajong in a 1–0 defeat on 24 April 2016. After the 2015–16 I-League season, having been with the club for seven years, Khabra left for Chennaiyin FC.
Chennaiyin FC 2014 ISL season: Loan season On 22 July 2014, during the
draft of the
inaugural season of the Indian Super League, it was announced that Khabra was signed on loan by Team Bengaluru, which would be renamed
Chennaiyin FC from East Bengal. He was called by Chennaiyin in the first round. He made his debut for them on 21 October 2014 in the first ever match in the South Indian Derby against
Kerala Blasters, where he assisted for Chennaiyin's second goal of the match, which they won 2–1. He played an integral part in the club's progress, as they qualified for the season
playoffs, meeting Kerala Blasters in both legs. He started in the first leg on 13 December 2014, which they lost 3–0. Khabra started in the second leg of the semi-final match against Kerala Blasters on 13 December 2014, which many would later call as one of the most dramatic matches in the history of the Indian Super League. Chennai scored three goals in 90 minutes, taking the match to extra time. Khabra, who was injured in the last minutes of the game, was taken off the pitch, and a 117th minute Kerala Blasters goal provided them with the vital goal, as they eliminated the Chennaiyin's chances of entering the final match with an aggregate score of 4–3 from both legs. after the team announced they were retaining him for his second loan year. He made his first appearance of the season against
Atlético de Kolkata (later ATK) in a 2–3 defeat on 3 October 2015. In the match between Chennaiyin and
NorthEast United FC on 20 October, Khabra saw a red card for misconduct towards the match officials. He was suspended for four matches and was fined 3 lakh rupees for violating article 50 of the
All India Football Federation (AIFF) disciplinary code. After his suspension, he returned to the pitch on 5 November in the match against Goa, where he was given a red card for tackling
Léo Moura in the 89th minute of the match. Goa won 2–0. Chennaiyin qualified for the
finals of the 2015 ISL, after defeating Atlético de Kolkata in the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 4–2. Khabra started in the lineup for the final match against
FC Goa, which was held on 20 December. The match ended 2–3 for Chennaiyin after they "snatch[ed] victory from the jaws of defeat". This victory helped Chennaiyin and Khabra to win their first Indian Super League trophy.
2016 ISL season: Signing permanent contract and final season Chennaiyin signed Khabra, and
Raphael Augusto on a permanent deal after the 2015 ISL campaign. Khabra made his first appearance in the match against FC Goa on 13 October 2016 in a 2–0 victory as a substitute for Raphael Augusto. Khabra played his last match for Chennaiyin on 1 December against FC Goa in the second match against them that season, which ended 5–4 to Goa. This match was not only the last match for Khabra, but it was also the highest scoring match in the history of the Indian Super League, until the match between Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin in 2020. After leaving Chennaiyin FC, Khabra signed for I-League side Bengaluru FC.
Bengaluru FC 2017: Loan season On 12 December 2016, it was announced that Khabra was signed by I-League side
Bengaluru FC for the rest of the
season. He made his debut for the club on 7 January 2017 against Shillong Lajong in a 3–0 victory. He made his first continental appearance for them in the
2017 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 match against
Al-Wehdat SC on 31 January in a 2–1 defeat. Khabra played first at the
2017 AFC Cup against
Maziya S&RC on 4 April 2017 as a substitute for
Sandesh Jhingan, which ended in a 0–1 win for Bengaluru. Khabra scored his debut goal for the club against Shillong Lajong in the second match of the season against them on 15 April, which ended 0–2 for Bengaluru after Khabra found the net.
2017–18: Signing permanent contract After the 2016–17 I-League season, Bengaluru shifted from the I-League to the Indian Super League as one of two new entrants in the league. On 4 April 2018, it was announced that Khabra had signed a three-year contract ending in May 2021. He played his first game of the season in a 2–0 victory over Mumbai City FC on 19 November 2017, in Bengaluru's first match in the Indian Super League. Khabra made his first appearance in the
2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs in the
preliminary qualifying match against
Transport United FC on 30 January 2018, which ended 3–0 for Bengaluru. Bengaluru had an influential campaign, as they qualified for the
finals of the 2017–18 ISL season. Khabra did not play the final match against his former club Chennaiyin on 17 March 2018, 2–3 loss. In the same season, Bengaluru qualified for the
final of the
2018 Indian Super Cup, and defeated his former club East Bengal in the final on 20 April with a score of 1–4. Khabra was benched for the match, but the club's victory helped him win his first trophy, and Bengaluru became the first ever champion of the Indian Super Cup.
2018–19: Second ISL victory After missing the last matches of the previous ISL season, Khabra was back in action for Bengaluru in the
2018–19 Indian Super League in their opening match on 20 September 2018 against Chennaiyin in a 1–0 victory. Khabra assisted twice in the match against
FC Pune City on 30 November 2018, which helped Bengaluru to win the match 2–1. He completed three assists. Bengaluru qualified for the
final for the second consecutive year meeting FC Goa in the match. Khabra started in the lineup for the final against Goa on 17 March 2019, which they ended up winning 1–0 after 120 minutes when a late goal decided the match for Bengaluru. This victory helped Khabra clinch his second ISL trophy and Bengaluru win their maiden ISL trophy.
2019–20: Third consecutive playoffs Khabra started his
2019–20 Indian Super League on 21 October 2019 in their opening match of the season in a 0–0 draw against NorthEast United. Bengaluru qualified for the 2019–20 ISL season
playoffs but failed to make it to the finals after they were brought down by
ATK (former
Atlético de Kolkata) with an aggregate score of 3–2. Khabra ended his season with no goals or assists. In between the ISL season, he played in the
2020 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs by appearing for the club first in the
second preliminary round match against
Paro FC in the first leg on 5 February 2020, which they won 0–1.
2020–21: 100th appearance and final season Khabra was back with the team for the
2020–21 Indian Super League, which was played behind closed doors because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. He played his first game of the season on 22 November 2020 in Bengaluru's opening match against Goa, which ended in a 2–2 draw. He provided three assists for the club in a devastating campaign. Khabra made his 100th appearance for the Blues in the match against Jamshedpur FC on 28 December, which they lost 0–1. He played his only match in the
2021 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs against the
Nepal Army Club in the
preliminary round 2 match on 14 April 2021, which they won 5–0. On 30 May 2021, it was officially announced that Khabra had left after spending five years with the club.
Kerala Blasters FC 2021–22: Debut season and ISL runner-up On 15 July 2021, Khabra signed a two-year deal with Indian Super League club
Kerala Blasters, the southern rivals of his previous club ahead of the
2021–22 Indian Super League. He made his debut for the club on 11 September 2021 against
Indian Navy in the
2021 Durand Cup, which they won 1–0. He made his league debut with the Blasters on 19 November in the 2021–22 Indian Super League season opener against
ATK Mohun Bagan FC, which they lost 4–2 at full-time. Khabra played the derby match against his former club Bengaluru on 28 November, where he was named man of the match, after the match ended in a 1–1 draw. He suffered a muscle tweak in the training session prior to the match against his former club East Bengal on 12 December, and was omitted from the squad for the game. He returned to the pitch on 19 December for the match against defending champions Mumbai City on 19 November, which they won 0–3. Khabra scored his debut goal and his first-ever goal in the Indian Super League on 12 January 2022 in the match against
Odisha FC, which they won 0–2 after Khabra scored the second goal for the club in the 40th minute of the game. During the post-match conference, he was then awarded with the man-of-the match award. He captained the Blasters side for the first time on 30 January in their 0–1 defeat over his former club Bengaluru. In the Blasters 3–0 victory against his former club Chennaiyin on 26 February, he became the second player in the Indian Super League history, behind
Narayan Das, to have played 10,000 minutes in the league. Khabra was handed a two-match ban and a fine of
₹1.5 lakh by the
All India Football Federation Disciplinary Committee, after he was charged with 'violent conduct' in the Indian Super League match against
Hyderabad FC in February.
2022–23: Game time reduction and departure After an impressive first season, Khabra made his first appearance of the season against his former club East Bengal in the opening match of the season on 7 October 2022, which they won 3–1 at home. Khabra provided the assist from the half-way line to set up the first goal of the match scored by
Adrián Luna. He scored his first goal of the season on 23 October against Odisha, where he scored a header in the 35th minute but the Blasters lost the match 2–1 at full-time. Since October, Khabra made only three more appearances for the club throughout the season and made played his last match of the season against East Bengal in the returning fixture on 3 February 2023, which they lost 1–0. After the ISL campaign with Blasters, Khabra was missed out on a place in their squad to take part in the
2023 Indian Super Cup season. After the end of the football season on 31 May, the Blasters announced the Khabra has left the club following the expiry of his contract on the same day.
Return To East Bengal 2023–24: Returning after seven-years After his tenure with the Kerala Blasters, on 21 June 2023, Khabra was re-signed by East Bengal as a free agent after seven years since his departure in 2016 ahead of the
2023–24 season. He made his return at
2023 Durand Cup captaining the side in a 2–2 draw against
Bangladesh Army Football Team, providing an assist to
Javier Siverio's goal. ==International career==