England’s Rehan Ahmed insists he can make a big impact in the pre-Christmas Test tour of Pakistan

Fresh off a career breakthrough last month, confidence is seeping through Rehan Ahmed’s answers as he considers the prospect of taking part in Pakistan’s pre-Christmas test tour of England.

Leicestershire’s teenage all-rounder has made just three first-class appearances and in his most recent one against Derbyshire, he scored his first hundred and took a first five-wicket haul.

That cemented him as the most exciting English cricketer of his generation and raised the possibility of him being promoted from a pre-series training camp in the United Arab Emirates.

The gifted all-rounder, 18, has appeared as a net bowler for England since he was 13

England have known about 18-year-old Ahmed for quite some time: his leg spin tested test players in Lord’s practice not long after he left primary school and he has made his appearance as a net bowler countless times since.

And with Jack Leach the only frontline spinner chosen from the 15 names for December’s three-game series, he will travel to Pakistan in a similar capacity.

That would potentially push him into the mix for selection as England’s youngest ever test cricketer, an honor currently held by Brian Close, who was 149 days older than his 18th birthday.

“Personally, I feel mentally ready. They didn’t say ‘we’ll take you, or this or that’. I feel like I always have to be ready for that moment,” says Ahmed.

“James Anderson is going on tour, so that’s just mental. He’s played international cricket longer than I have! It’s crazy.

“But I try to stay in the present, not think too far ahead, and I never do that. I will continue to do my best in Dubai and hopefully if they take me to train with them, great, otherwise I will come back to train at Leicester.”

The leg spinner played in the Under-19 World Cup, where his country lost to India in the final

He is clearly not discouraged by the prospect. That’s him again. Take his stance on that game against Derbyshire when his unwavering self-promotion led to his rise to number five in the batting order.

“It was the last game of the season and I had asked to hit higher in every game I played, to be honest. It was one of those times of the year when we had nothing to gain and not much to lose, so the coaches just took a chance on me,” he explains.

“I reminded Paul Nixon and Claude Henderson all season, even in the beginning, of things like ‘I’m a batsmen, you know.’ I’ve always thought of myself as more of a batsman to be honest, so getting a hundred was satisfying.”

Despite his young age, he also doesn’t shy away from playing on the field, when he’s itching to have a bowl, seeing it as ‘don’t brag, just show me what I can do’.

He explains: ‘I always make sure to rotate my arm when I look at the captain, for a little hint. I always tell the captain I’m ready to bowl in any situation, be it the worst time to bowl or the best time, and no one puts me back in my place, they always try to support me.

“I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not always going to be the best bowler or the best batsman, I know I’m going to fail, but when I’m okay, I just try to do that. do the best I can.’

With Jack Leach (top right) named the only frontline spinner in England’s pre-Christmas test tour of Pakistan, Ahmed is set to travel to Asia again as a net bowler and could be selected

However, there is a startling confession from the middle brother of three cricket-crazed Nottingham boys. He is not even the best of the Ahmed siblings.

That honor, he says, goes to Raheem, a left-armed sailor who is a year older than him and who also attended Grace Road academy but was unlucky with an injury.

Younger brother Farhan, an off-spinner, made several appearances for Nottinghamshire’s second XI last summer, aged just 14.

“We’ve all dreamed that all three of us played,” Ahmed added, discussing the precociously talented family’s international ambitions. His own career continues to gain momentum.

Last summer, as a 17-year-old, he was picked for England Lions and claimed centurion Janneman Malan, castrated by a googly, as one of three victims in a 50-over win over South Africa.

His future will be mapped out by Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, in conjunction with his club Leicestershire

His performances in the 2022 Vitality Blast, in which he claimed 19 wickets, and in the Hundred led to him being inundated with franchise offers as well, although his future will be mapped out by Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, in partnership with Leicestershire.

England supporters will be pleased to hear that such a schedule will be Test-oriented, giving the self-confessed cricket-obsessive plenty of time on the pitch to indulge his one true passion.

‘I never really get sick of it. Even on a bad day I’m like, so what? I’ll just keep shadow batting, I guess. I keep thinking about the game. I just think it’s the best there is. I don’t really think about studies, movies, that sort of thing. It’s just cricket.’

To the extent that when his Southern Brave coach Mahela Jayawardene forbade him to practice, to rest, he circumvented the order.

“They trained during the day, so I went to the indoor center at seven, if they were outside,” he explained. “I can’t go a day without picking up a bat or a ball. It’s impossible.’

He is clearly a player desperate for an impact and the biggest of his life could just come from Mirpur, the city where his taxi driving father Naeem comes from.

“It would mean a lot to represent England in Pakistan. It would be great,” he laughs.