Name: Rehan Ahmed
Rehan Ahmed is a right-arm leg break bowler and right-handed playing for Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
In December 2022, at age 17, Ahmed made history. He became England's youngest men's Test cricketer. Ahmed debuted for England against Pakistan in the third Test in Karachi. His selection came after he impressed in the tour games. Ahmed took the wicket of Babar Azam in the first innings. Ahmed started playing cricket at age 8. He joined the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club academy. Ahmed impressed with his leg spin bowling.
In 2020, at age 14, he took 8 wickets for the Nottinghamshire U15 team against the Lancashire U15 team.
In 2021, Ahmed joined the Leicestershire County Cricket Club academy. He signed a professional contract with Leicestershire in August 2022 at age 16. Ahmed took 8 wickets on his Second XI Championship debut for Leicestershire against Durham in August 2022. Ahmed made his first-class debut for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in September 2022. He took 5 wickets in the first innings. At 17 years, Ahmed became the youngest man to take 5 wickets on first-class debut for Leicestershire.
Later in September 2022, Ahmed played for the England Lions against the touring Pakistan team in a four-day warm-up match. He took 7 wickets across both innings. Ahmed's performance led to selection for the England Test squad to tour Pakistan.
Ahmed was the youngest member of the England Test squad at age 17. He played well in the tour warm-up matches in Pakistan. Ahmed took a total of 7 wickets across the two games. His wickets included Babar Azam and Azhar Ali.
After injuries to other England spinners, Ahmed made his Test debut at the age of 17 in December 2022. He became England's youngest men's Test cricketer. In December 2022, he was shortlisted for that year’s BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award.
After his debut, Ahmed joined the England white-ball squad for the tour of Bangladesh in March 2023. He played 3 ODIs and 2 T20Is on that tour at age 17. Ahmed made his ODI debut vs Bangladesh on March 1, 2023. He took figures of 2-57 from 10 overs. Ahmed made his T20I debut a week later on March 9 vs Bangladesh, taking 1-32 from 4 overs.
In April 2023, aged 17 years and 8 months, Ahmed played for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He became the first England-born cricketer to feature in the IPL.
So far in his young career, Ahmed has made history multiple times. He is England's youngest men's Test and T20I cricketer. Ahmed held the record as Leicestershire's youngest first-class debutant until surpassed in 2024. His Test debut and IPL appearances, both before the age of eighteen.
After his impressive debut season, Ahmed aimed to build on the early success in 2024. He started the year by playing for the England Lions squad against the touring New Zealand team in February. Ahmed took 5 wickets across the two warm-up matches against New Zealand's Test squad.
Following the New Zealand series, Ahmed toured Australia with the England Test squad in 2024. He played all 5 Tests of the Ashes series. Ahmed took 19 wickets at 32.63 across the 5 Tests. His top performance came at Adelaide Oval with match figures of 6-102.
