Rehan Ahmed: ‘I’m not yet the bowler I want to be in five years’

Rehan Ahmed says his aim this summer is to be ready to play for England at any time and in any format, but he admits his immediate focus at Leicestershire may have to be on his batting, given that his footwork is unlikely to be a major problem. weapon at the start of the season.

Rehan returned early from England's tour of India following a family bereavement, having played in each of the first three Tests. Although he didn't make the same impact as he did on his debut in Karachi in December 2022, he still picked up 11 wickets at 44, including a six-wicket haul in Visakhapatnam.

But at the age of 19, Rehan recognizes that the experience he has already gleaned during his short international career far exceeds the impact that could have been expected of him.

“I feel like I have nothing to lose in this situation,” Rehan said at the Kia Oval, when Rado was unveiled as the official timing partner of English cricket. “I know I'm not the bowler I want to be in five years. I'm just the bowler I am today. So, I'm just trying to do the best I can, and at the same time, I 'enjoy it as much as possible. I can.

“We came close in a lot of games. We had a lot of chances to close out games, but I guess they did it better than us. Personally, I got a lot, a lot of experience from it, a lot of things I learned. I can use it to make my cricket better. And I enjoyed it more than anything else. [India is] a team I will always want to play for. I liked it.”

Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England have certainly put fun at the forefront of the Test experience, and although the tour ended in disappointment with a 4-1 series defeat, Rehan played a small role but important in the undisputed climax of the series. , the 28-run victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.

“I look back and I just can't believe I was part of it,” said Rehan, after taking two wickets in the first innings and making 41 runs in his two innings. “I look back as a cricket fan, thinking it was crazy. But being part of it makes it even crazier.

“Karachi's victory was great. The match in Rawalpindi [against Pakistan in 2022] when I played 12th man it was amazing, and Hyderabad were probably the best. It was huge. It's just great. It’s something we wake up to every day and it literally makes us happy to have been a part of it.”

Regardless of his own precociousness, Rehan knows he has benefited immensely from playing under the guidance of Stokes, a captain whose willingness to attack the match situation plays to his enthusiastic young player's strengths.

“Stokesy saying 'you don't play with an intermediary', I would have thought that was crazy, I don't think any other captain would say that to me,” Rehan said. “And to be honest, I’m just like ‘let’s do it.’ I don’t want to play with a player halfway, let’s do everything we can and force the game.

“I really enjoy it. I think that's what I enjoyed the most. Sometimes it gets the better of me when I get slapped, but I don't have a single regret, thinking that I could have done this or that.

“I train at my club and the kids come up to me like I’m the biggest player,” he added. “No I'm not, I'm just a normal guy trying to bowl. All you can do is keep believing in yourself.”

Rehan knows, however, that his progress could be thwarted in the coming months by the vagaries of the English season.

“It’s April, it’s going to be tight,” he said. “I don't expect to bowl a lot of overs because if the seamers get wickets, they get wickets. The team comes first. But if I know I'm not going to bowl on the day because Wrighty [Chris Wright] I'll probably get eight, I'll just try to bowl as many times as possible in the nets.

It's a situation that Jeetan Patel, England's spin bowling coach, anticipated during the India series, when he pledged to provide coaching support so that his young bowlers were not left behind while their playing time was limited.

Rehan, however, has an extra string to his bow that he wants to exploit in the coming months. After making his maiden first-class century in the final match of the 2022 season, he is focused on securing his place in the Leicestershire team with his batting and his luck with the ball when it presents itself .

“No one told me anything [about spin coaching]”, he said. “I'm going to play county cricket straight away. Leicestershire 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 had two weeks off and I just want to play again.

“I would have to see the balance of the team first,” he said when asked if he expected to be handed a top-six role for his county. “It's not a case where I come and hit wherever I want. I'm not here all winter, the guys have worked hard so they deserve it first. So if I make the team and I'm playing, so I hope I'm going to get a bat.

Whatever happens this season, Rehan's professional career is still new enough that he can take advantage of every opportunity, no matter where they present themselves. He withdrew from the IPL auction in December in order to manage his time and ensure he was fully prepared for any role England might offer him, whether it was a home Test debut against the West Indies in July, or even the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in June, which follows a clean-ball series at home against Pakistan.

“I want to be ready for England at all times,” he said. “I don't really care about what I'm trying to achieve this year. I've tried to do everything I can within myself. So whether it's bowling my overs or bowling as many points as possible, there are things I really want to work on. If it takes me [to the World Cup]That brings me to this, and if that's not the case, and the team balance is not good and so on, there are lots of things to take into account.”

Another factor behind his withdrawal from the IPL was his desire to spend time with family, which has been all the more important for him in recent times, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

“I love family,” he said. “I don't want to miss out on family time while I'm young. My little brother [England Under-19 offspinner Farhan] I obviously traveled a lot, my older brother trained a lot, so I feel like we didn't sit together a lot. But for the past two weeks, we have been sharing food every day. So that’s also something special, and it’s something I love.”