18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed added to England squad for Pakistan Tests
Rehan Ahmed, Leicestershireās young leg-spin all-rounder, has received a maiden England call-up for the sideās three-match Test series in Pakistan next month. Rehan caught selectorsā attention with an impressive showing in the teamās red-ball training camp, and is currently playing in the three-day warm-up fixture against the England Test squad in Abu Dhabi.
āWe know heās not the finished article and has raw potential, but Ben (Stokes), myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game,ā said Brendon McCullum, Englandās Test team head coach. āThe experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the make-up of our squad.ā
What better way to celebrate #LeggiesWeek than with an international call-up? š¤
ā LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) November 23, 2022
Congratulations on being added to the England Test squad, @RehanAhmed__16 š“ó §ó ¢ó „ó ®ó §ó æš#LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/RiypsFU9Uk
The 18-year-old made his List A debut last year, before playing three first-class games and 19 T20s in 2022. He has bagged nine wickets at 30.11 including a five-for, while scoring 195 runs at 32.50 and a highest of 122 from three red-ball matches.
Ahmed was Englandās second highest wicket-taker at the ICC Menās Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2022 in the West Indies earlier this year, with 12 scalps at 12.58 and a best of 4/30 in the teamās runners-up finish. Should he get a chance on the upcoming tour, Ahmed would become the youngest player to play Test cricket for England, Brian Close, who had debuted at an age of 18 years 149 days against New Zealand in Manchester in July 1949.
The first Test Pakistan vs England Test will be played in Tests in Rawalpindi (December 1-5) followed by the second in Multan (December 9-13) and third in Karachi (December 17-21).
England Test squad for Pakistan tour
Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed
Pakistan Test squad
Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Nawaz, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Ali.