Pakistan tour a terrific opportunity for Rehan Ahmed, says McCullum

KARACHI: The coach of England Brendon McCullum has said that all rounder Rehan Ahmed has a fantastic opportunity to showcase his talent on the three-test series in Pakistan and has no doubts the 18-year-old has the confidence and ability to overcome the challenges he will face on tour.

In an interview to The Telegraph, he said “what a fabulous kind of opportunity for someone like him, he seems really confident in himself.”

Responding to a question, McCullum said “we all know that the game is difficult and there’s so many demands on us, we are judged by our results but ultimately, we want to leave an impression, not just on the game, but leave an impression on ourselves of this period of time in our lives. We have looked at what we need to do to be at our absolute best and to perform in Pakistan and I think the last week has been about camaraderie amongst the group.”

He said “one learning we had from earlier on in the year is that because now the team is very separate to the T20 set up, 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. 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. That is the idea. The skip says ‘I think the boys would like this’, so we will see where we land.”

All-rounder Ahmed has featured in only three first-class matches for Leicestershire – taking nine wickets and making 195 runs – and could become England’s youngest men’s test player if he plays in Pakistan next month.