Rehan Ahmed is optimistic about his future opportunities after thoroughly enjoying his time with the England team this winter.
Ahmed, who became the youngest male Test player for England in 2022 with a five-wicket haul on debut against Pakistan in Karachi, had to wait 14 months for another chance to play red-ball cricket for his country.
He relished the opportunity to compete against India and took 11 wickets across three Tests.
Ahmed, who is 19 years old, is feeling refreshed and ready to take on new challenges. Although there is a T20 World Cup on the horizon, as well as home Test series against West Indies and Pakistan, he has not set any major summer targets for himself:
“I’ll be playing county cricket straight away. Leicester comes first when I’m not playing for England. I didn’t know if I wanted to play because I wanted a break, but I’ve had two weeks off and I just want to play again.”
Ahmed was part of a three-man spin attack alongside Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir that performed well at times in India but there are concerns about the amount of overs the trio will receive in the early months of the domestic season.
Despite this, the 19-year-old is not making any outlandish demands to his Leicestershire coaches regarding his bowling or batting role. He has a team-first mentality, which he clearly owes to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.