The English red-ball contingent have landed on Pakistan soil for their first bilateral Test series in 17 years against the Men in Green. The newly-crowned T20 World Cup champions will cross swords with Pakistan in the longest format of the sport in a three-match Test series commencing on December 1.
One of the interesting inclusions for the series in the England squad was that of Rehan Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg-spinner. England coach Brendon McCullum opined that the young sensation exudes massive confidence and further stated that the series will be a ‘fabulous’ opportunity for Rehan.
“What a fabulous kind of opportunity for someone like him. He seems really confident in himself. He’s 18 and on an England tour to Pakistan so there’s some real opportunities there and there’ll be some challenges along the way, but it’s our job to figure this out. We know that he’s not the finished product. He’s a long way away from that, but he’s got something which is pretty kind of special,” said the Three Lions coach as quoted by The Times of India.
Rehan has made just three first-class appearances so far and assuming he makes the cut in the playing XI in Pakistan Tests, Rehan would become England men's youngest-ever debutant to feature for the side. Born on August 13, 2004, the spinner would officially surpass Brian Close (18 years and 149 days) representing the national side in whites.
We need to get the team together: Brendon McCullum
The coach further stressed the fact that the side should remain together in the build-up to the tour despite different squads across the various formats.
“One learning we had from earlier on in the year is that because now the team is very separate to the Twenty20 setup. A lot of our guys go off and they do their own thing, so if we’re asking these guys to push the boundaries, then we need to get them together a bit earlier,” stated McCullum.
“A lot of that is not to do with cricket but breaking down those barriers, spending time socially, playing golf or at the pool. Once you have spent a couple of days together, you can put the graft in and start ticking off the skill side of things,” he added.
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