Rehan Ahmed is one of 27 England cricketers who will go under the hammer during the IPL 2023 auction.
The teenager returned with seven scalps, including a five-wicket haul in Pakistan’s second innings, in his maiden Test appearance, helping England complete a 3-0 whitewash with an emphatic eight-wicket victory on Tuesday (December 20).
During the Karachi Test, Rehan, at 18 years and 128 days, became England’s youngest Test player and then the youngest in the world to take five wickets on debut.
Rehan Ahmed’s stunning display on Test debut has certainly put him in the spotlight ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction, scheduled for December 23 in Kochi.
Earlier, the reports were claiming that Rehan would ignore the lure of the cash-rich league to start the County Championship season with Leicestershire in April.
However, England Test coach Brendon McCullum is excited about the prospect of Rehan Ahmed playing in the IPL as he believes that the high-profile T20 tournament could aid his development.
“It would be awesome if he (Ahmed) did. I’ve been involved with the IPL a couple of times so sometimes it works out for guys and sometimes it doesn’t. Why not?” McCullum said while speaking to BBC Radio.
He added: “Why not get an opportunity to go and play under different coaches and different captains and rub shoulders with different players and pick up those experiences? What 18-year-old kid anywhere else in world cricket is going to get those chances? I think we should encourage it.”
Rehan Ahmed is one of 27 England cricketers who will go under the hammer during the IPL 2023 mini-auction.
(With AFP inputs)