England are contemplating handing a first home Test cap to Rehan Ahmed next month.
Daily Mail Sport understands that Leicestershire’s Ahmed, whose five appearances to date have all come overseas, has emerged as the leading contender for the spinner’s berth for the three-match series against New Zealand.
During last winter’s Ashes, England completely overlooked established first-choice spinner Shoaib Bashir, opting to use part-timer Will Jacks in a move designed to lengthen their batting.
Jacks claimed just six Australian wickets in four outings at an average of 53.66 and struggled to provide control for Ben Stokes’ team, leaking 4.9 runs an over.
But it has not deterred an England hierarchy, which is to be boosted by the impending appointment of Marcus North as national selector, from continuing with a policy of using an all-rounder to send down their primary spin overs.
While Surrey’s Jacks is better suited as a white-ball spinner, Ahmed, 21, who became England’s youngest Test cricketer on the same Pakistan tour on which Jacks made his debut three-and-a-half years ago, would add an attacking dimension as a wrist spinner, particularly in second innings.
Rehan Ahmed is set to get an England Test recall and be their first-choice spinner this summer
Ahmed celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking a wicket during England’s tour of India in 2024
Will Jacks claimed just six Australian wickets at an average of 53.66 in a nightmare Ashes tour
Ahmed took seven wickets in his first appearance in Karachi in December 2022 and has gone on to claim 22 in total, all on the subcontinent.
Named on the England Lions tour of Australia, it was anticipated that he would be upgraded to England’s Ashes squad for the Christmas period, but a leg injury forced him home.
Ahmed showed his top-level temperament later in the winter when he combined in a stunning late heist with Jacks in a run chase against New Zealand at the Twenty20 World Cup.
Both players are currently at the Indian Premier League, although Ahmed – who scored five County Championship hundreds in 2025 – bagged six wickets in first-class fixtures against Sussex and Surrey before departing for the tournament last month.
In his final Ashes column for Daily Mail Sport, Jimmy Anderson nominated Ahmed in his XI for the first Test of the summer.
England will also make a call on who will replace Zak Crawley at the top of the order for the Lord’s Test when they select their squad next week, with Durham’s Ben McKinney thought to be edging the race ahead of county colleague Emilio Gay and Asa Tribe, of Glamorgan. James Rew’s experimental switch to the top of Somerset’s order ended in two failures this week.
