Pakistan v England: Rehan Ahmed's promising debut in Karachi

Rehan Ahmed lone made his first-class debut successful May

Rehan Ahmed is younger than Facebook, Strictly Come Dancing and nonrecreational T20 cricket.

In cricketing terms, leg-spinner Ahmed has ever done things successful a hurry.

He was bowling googlies, flippers and sliders earlier the property of 10. By 11 helium was dismissing England captains past and present, Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes, successful the nets astatine Lord's. A twelvemonth aboriginal helium was impressing the late, large Shane Warne.

Now, astatine 18 years and 126 days, helium has played Test cricket astatine a younger property than immoderate different antheral to propulsion connected an England shirt. You person to spell backmost to 1899 to find an England subordinate with less than Ahmed's 3 first-class matches connected Test debut.

For idiosyncratic utilized to moving done beingness astatine pace, Ahmed really recovered his feet successful Test cricket by slowing down.

• Ahmed wickets assistance England disregard Pakistan successful Karachi
• TMS podcast: Record-breaking Rehan

Understandably, his archetypal spell connected the archetypal time of the 3rd Test against Pakistan successful Karachi was a tense one.

Looking a small rushed, his 5 overs successful the greeting league outgo 37 runs. Leg-spin is the hardest creation successful cricket to execute astatine the champion of times, fto unsocial erstwhile you're lone 4 months into ineligible adulthood and bowling to Babar Azam and Azhar Ali, 2 of the top Pakistanis to ever gully backmost a blade.

Returning aft lunch, Ahmed was relaxed and acceptable to rip.

He fizzed catches from close manus to near and tugged astatine the shoulders of his garment arsenic if he'd had to get it from a bigger boy. He walked 2 paces past scurried to the crease, unleashing level leg-breaks and devilish googlies.

It was with the googly that Ahmed entrapped Saud Shakeel for his archetypal Test wicket. After the left-handed Shakeel groped for 1 that turned away, the adjacent ball, a leg-break, spun backmost in, took the wrong borderline and was caught disconnected the pad by a diving Ollie Pope astatine abbreviated leg. Ahmed was mobbed.

Not the tallest, Ahmed grew successful stature. He was the bowler erstwhile Babar was tally retired and Ahmed's googly tormented Faheem Ashraf, who played truthful acold down the incorrect enactment helium recovered himself connected the Bakerloo erstwhile helium should person been connected the Circle.

For a agelong period, Ahmed out-bowled England's fig 1 spinner Jack Leach, but Leach nipped successful for the 3 past wickets to extremity with 4-140 - the experienced aged pro teaching the youngster however to feast connected rabbit pie.

Still, Ahmed's 2-89 made him the youngest leg-spinner to instrumentality 2 wickets successful a Test innings for 17 years.

"It's astir apt the champion time of my beingness truthful far," Ahmed told Test Match Special done an immovable smile.

"I was precise nervous. It was bully to get escaped of the archetypal over, past dilatory settee in.

"As clip went connected I felt mode much comfortable, similar it was a bully spot to be. I wasn't reasoning 'do this oregon bash that'."

Rehan Ahmed caused Pakistan's batters problems with his variations

Ahmed's time began with him receiving his England cap, begetter Naeem astatine his side, from erstwhile skipper Nasser Hussain.

Hussain was skipper erstwhile England past played a Test successful Karachi, successful 2000. They had a leg-spinner successful their broadside past too, adjacent if it did crook retired to beryllium the past clip Ian Salisbury played for England.

In the intervening 22 years, England person picked 5 different leg-spinners earlier Ahmed - Chris Schofield, Scott Borthwick, Adil Rashid, Mason Crane and Matt Parkinson. Only Rashid has played much than 2 Tests.

If English cricket has agelong dreamed of uncovering its ain mentation of Warne, past the wide misunderstanding of leg-spin successful our state is lone matched by the corporate failing to prime Warney's flipper.

Luckily for Ahmed, helium has a skipper successful Stokes and manager successful Brendon McCullum whose full ethos is built connected removing unit from players. They person made the imaginable of nonaccomplishment little frightening than Winnie the Pooh aft a mates of gins.

"There's not excessively overmuch unit to perform, conscionable to person fun," said Stokes. "You lone marque your debut once, you tin ne'er marque it again. If we tin marque him consciousness similar he's had a shot of a clip retired determination and helium walks disconnected with wickets and runs, that would beryllium great."

Not that Ahmed is apt to beryllium fazed by the situation of playing astatine the highest level. Those who cognize him talk of his immense confidence, not to notation an insatiable tendency to person a bat oregon shot successful his manus astatine each imaginable opportunity.

During The Hundred, Southern Brave manager Mahela Jayawardene ordered Ahmed to instrumentality a time disconnected from training. Ahmed snuck to the nets anyway.

Rahim Ali, Ahmed's puerility mentor who present works with him astatine Leicestershire, told BBC Sport: "We were playing distant against Northants. I was successful the edifice and astatine astir 11 astatine nighttime I could perceive balls connected a bat.

"I knocked connected the wall, past I messaged to spot what country helium was successful - helium was adjacent door. He said helium was trying his caller bat for the pursuing day."

Perhaps the happening that came closest to knocking Ahmed disconnected his stride came aft the adjacent successful Karachi.

Saqlain Mushtaq, legendary spinner and present the Pakistan coach, was talking astir Ahmed.

"It was a precise awesome performance," said Saqlain. "I truly liked his control. The astir important happening was his confidence. He has a batch of potential. He looks a truly bully imaginable for the England team."

Ahmed was listening astatine the backmost of the room.

"I didn't privation to perceive that, it's pumped maine up a bit," helium said.

Ahmed mightiness person to get utilized to it. This was a precise promising start.