Ahmed, 18, gets England white-ball call-up for Bangladesh tour

Thursday, 9 February 2023 01:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON, AFP: England picked teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in their white-ball squads for the first time ahead of next month’s tour of Bangladesh.

The 18-year-old Leicestershire bowler became England’s youngest men’s Test cricketer against Pakistan in Karachi in December and marked his debut in style with a five-wicket haul.

Ahmed had played just three first-class matches before making his Test bow, but has more experience in white-ball cricket, having appeared regularly for his county side.

Saqib Mahmood has been included in the one-day international squad for the first time since suffering a stress fracture of the back in May last year.

But there was no place for Alex Hales, with the big-hitting batsman set to honour his contract to play in the Pakistan Super League after only returning to England duty last year. Hales was a key figure in England’s T20 World Cup triumph in Australia in November after a positive test for recreational drug use came to light on the eve of the 2019 50-over World Cup led to more than three years of international exile.

England will play three ODIs and three T20s in Bangladesh from 1 to 14 March.

The T20 fixtures are their first in the format since Jos Buttler’s men became world champions, adding to their 50-over global title.

ODI squad: Captain/wkt. Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Abell (Somerset), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Sam Curran (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)