England allrounder Rehan Ahmed played his first T20 World Cup match against New Zealand in their last Super 8s encounter this past Friday, and boy, did he make a difference.
The English team was staring at a crushing defeat when Ahmed, youngest England Test cricketer to date, joined Will Jacks as a No.8 batsman. And lo and behold, he scored 19* off just seven balls with the help of two sixes to help his team pull off a famous heist.
Thanks to his partnership with Jacks, England finished top of Group 2 in the Super 8s. Now the 21-year-old has revealed what coach Brendon McCullum’s message was for him as he prepared himself to walk in following the fall of the sixth wicket.
“Baz [Brendon McCullum] actually sent one of the walkie talkie messages downstairs, saying ‘tell Reh to bat like Sehwag’,” the BBC quoted Ahmed as saying.
Not just with the bat, Ahmed, who bowls leg-spin, made a difference with the ball too. He removed the dangerous Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie to justify his inclusion on a spin-friendly wicket in Colombo. He bowled three overs and all he conceded was just 28 runs, pretty good in light of the nature of the format.
The English team are now likely to play their semifinal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, most probably against co-hosts India or the West Indies. The pitch there is expected to be conducive to batsmen, and that means Ahmed may not get a place in the Playing XI of that match. Ever the team man, Ahmed says he is not bothered about that, and that all he cares is that England go on to win their third T20 World Cup trophy.
Ahmed doesn’t care if he doesn’t play in Mumbai!
Every team will appreciate a player like that who is willing to put his country above personal ambitions. “I’m not too bothered about my place in the team. Baz and Brooky [captain Harry Brook] will definitely put out the best team they think is going to win, as they did [against New Zealand].
“It’s not a personal thing for me – it’s a World Cup, it’s my first World Cup to be in.
“I’ll just keep enjoying the ride, if I get the nod I’ll play and if not then I’ll give water to the boys,” Ahmed said.
