England Cricket
England coach-captain delight to have 18-years-old Rehan
|| CF DESK ||
Rehan Ahmed, England's youngest men's test cricketer, was named to the squad on Wednesday for the three-match tour of Pakistan, which begins next week.
Leicestershire's England under-19 international is 18 years and 102 days old, beating Yorkshire's Brian Close, who represented England at the age of 18 years and 149 days against New Zealand in July 1949.
"We know he's not the finished article and has raw potential, but Ben (Stokes), myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game," said head coach Brendon McCullum in a statement.
"The experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the make-up of our squad."
While the tour of Pakistan is historic for England given it is 17 years since they last toured the country for a Test series, it will be equally significant for Ahmed.
"My dad is from Pakistan and I have family there, so I've been a few times," Ahmed told ESPNcricinfo in October.
"We're from a place called Mirpur. Whenever I've been, I'll go to the stadium and train and you'll have a load of bowlers ready to bowl to you, and a load of batters ready to bat.
"Every time I've been, it's always been great: the way they look after you there is crazy. It would mean the world to represent England in Pakistan. It would be great."