Rehan Ahmed becomes England's youngest debutant in ODIs: Details here
Rehan Ahmed has scripted history by becoming England's youngest debutant in ODIs. The all-rounder accomplished the milestone in England's third and final ODI versus Bangladesh on Monday (March 6). Last year, Ahmed also became England's youngest Test debutant during the away Test series versus Pakistan. Notably, he also featured in the ICC Under-19 World Cup last year. Here are his stats.
Why does this story matter?
Ahmed, who received his maiden ODI cap from veteran leg-spinner Adil Rashid, made his debut at the age of 18 years and 205 days. As per ESPNcricinfo, Ben Hollioake was previously England's youngest ODI debutant. He played his first match against Australia in 1997, at the age of 19 years and 195 days. Meanwhile, Rehan has replaced the injured Will Jacks in the XI.
Who is Rehan Ahmed?
Ahmed was born on August 13, 2004, in Nottingham. Besides being a street-smart leg-spinner, he is also a handy batter lower down the order. As mentioned, the all-rounder was a part of England's squad in the Under-19 World Cup 2022. With 12 wickets in four games, he was England's second-highest wicket-taker in the competition (ER: 4.19). The youngster also scored 31 runs.
Fifer on Test debut
Ahmed made his Test debut during England's third and final Test versus Pakistan in December last year. At 18 years and 124 days, Rehan became England's youngest Test cricketer, displacing Brian Close (18 years and 149 days). He further created history on Day 3 of the contest, becoming the youngest-ever bowler to claim a fifer on Test debut (5/48).
His numbers in List-A cricket
Ahmed, who made his List-A debut for Leicestershire in July 2021, played just seven games in the format before earning his maiden ODI cap. The leggie picked five wickets in these games at an economy rate of 5.74. The tally also includes 89 runs at 44.50. Meanwhile, the youngster has also featured in four First-Class games and 19 T20 matches.
Bangladesh opt to bat
Meanwhile, Bangladesh won the toss in the final ODI and opted to bat at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. England, who enjoy an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, added pacers Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes in the XI besides Ahmed. Saqib Mahmood and Mark Wood made way for the duo. For Bangladesh, Ebadot Hossain came in for fellow pacer Taskin Ahmed.
