Rehan Ahmed interview: I won't be like Steve Smith and stop bowling

Telegraph

13 hours ago

It is approaching three years since Rehan Ahmed 's stunning Test debut but it is not until Wednesday that he will turn 21. And this coming-of-age milestone arrives in the middle of a coming-of-age season full of milestones.
Ahmed has been one of the stories of the season despite not adding to his tally of caps in a thrilling Test summer.
In a resurgent Leicestershire side seemingly certain for promotion, he has hit five County Championship centuries, equal most in the land. Four of them have come in his last four matches and all of them have come in the top three after he opportunistically asked for a promotion.
Ahmed also has 23 wickets at 19 apiece, including 16 at 17 with the Kookaburra ball which has been county cricket's kryptonite this dry summer.
Magic from Rehan Ahmed.
He finished with match figures of 60-13-144-13. pic.twitter.com/TZN1obIz6d
— Rothesay County Championship (@CountyChamp) July 25, 2025
It is now Hundred season, and he has started that well, too. In two Trent Rockets wins, he has 56 runs from 42 balls at No 3 and taken two wickets from his 25 deliveries.
'I'm a bowler who bowls and a batter who bats'
In the winter of 2022-23, as an 18-year-old, Ahmed became England's youngest male cricketer in all three formats. He took a five-wicket haul on Test debut and was the first of the Bazball era's great punts on youth.
But his talent was so obvious and prodigious in both key facets of the game that it was easy to wonder which he should concentrate more on. For England, he has been a bowler. For Leicestershire, he has largely been a batsman. This year, for all his batting success, Ahmed has not changed his view of his own cricket.
'I still feel like I'm a bowler who bowls and a batter who bats,' he tells Telegraph Sport. 'I want to be very good at both. Whether that takes me years or happens quickly, I will always be striving to be the best all-rounder I can.'
He accepts, though, that something has changed in his batting. In the opening game of the championship season, Leicestershire's regular opener Rishi Patel injured his hand, and Ahmed offered to stand in. In his first full game in the role, he scored a hundred, just the second of his career, and was moved to No 3 when Patel returned. Four more hundreds have followed.
A change in role and a new lease of life for Rehan Ahmed. Enjoy the best of a fine century against Derbyshire. pic.twitter.com/nYvux7R8L9
— Rothesay County Championship (@CountyChamp) July 25, 2025
'I asked for the opportunity to open,' he says. 'I feel I train hard enough on my batting to bat in the top order. When I was batting lower down, I felt like I was always chasing the game. But at three, in your head you have more time to shape the game. I'm not saying I play to all that time, but it makes me more relaxed knowing it's there.
'And also, when you bat at No 3, there are often only about three fielders in front of the bat. It can be easier to get a good start. It's also nice having that responsibility, to take the game on yourself.
'I feel that if I occupy the crease long enough, I will always find ways to score. I just had to find a way to stay out there long enough. I am surprised that I've kept my head switched on long enough to get five hundreds, but I'm delighted.
'I always felt I never did myself justice with the bat. I love batting. I have always told everyone I love batting. I would say that, and then look at my numbers and ask myself 'mate, do you actually love batting?'
'I train so much on my batting, and expect myself not to get out in certain ways. So when I have got out like that, and go against the work I've done, it's not nice. I tried to make sure I am content with how I have got out because I know my options. You are going to get out. It's just how many runs you've got before you've got out.
'The template has not changed. But I have soaked up pressure much better, I think. I have got a 50 off 30 balls, and hit four fours in an over because I felt that was the best way to put a bowler under pressure. But it's the times I've soaked up pressure better that it's paid off most.'
It has been easy to wonder if Ahmed is on some sort of Steve Smith arc: the leg-spinning all-rounder whose unique and irrepressible batting took over. He is not having it, though.
'I love bowling, too!' he says. 'Whenever I've played for England, it's been as a bowler. I still do think that's my first skill and I am trying to learn as much as I possibly can. Leg-spin is an art that you can never perfect. It's about working as hard as possible.
'I want to bowl as much as I possibly can. I enjoy it. I love being part of the game as much as I can. So I just want to get runs and a load of wickets consistently in the same games.'
'I hope my brother breaks my records'
Leicestershire have never been promoted, and have been out of the championship's top flight since 2003. Ahmed puts this season's success to their bevy of all-rounders: himself, Ian Holland (who he calls the Leicester Jacques Kallis), Ben Green and Tom Scriven, who has battled No 11 at times despite a first-class average of almost 30.
At the Rockets, Ahmed is batting No 3 behind Joe Root, has Graeme Swann coaching spin and Andy Flower in charge. Having worked together in the ILT20, Flower and Ahmed appear to be forming an unlikely bromance.
'We have a great relationship,' he laughs. 'From the outside, he can look a bit daunting. When I first met him it felt almost like a headteacher. I felt like I was going to get told off every time! But I love the fact that he is serious, it shows how much he cares. He's a good laugh as well, an open guy and a great coach.'
Perhaps circled in Ahmed's calendar is Tuesday, August 19, when Rockets face Manchester Originals, who have picked up his 17-year-old brother, Farhan, who is already a first-team regular with Nottinghamshire. They met twice in the Blast this year. Could Farhan break Rehan's records as England's youngest player?
'He can try!' the big brother laughs. 'Honestly, I hope he does. He's a very talented boy and works very hard too. I don't see why he couldn't.
'I can't wait [to play against him again]. It's something we dreamt of when we were kids, playing against your brothers on the big stage. I'm very happy for him, he's got a lot of skill and is doing very well.'
'I'd love to be a part of the Ashes'
When Shoaib Bashir succumbed to injury last month, the Leicestershire coach Alfonso Thomas said he was 'amazed' Ahmed was not called up. The player himself saw it differently, saying Liam Dawson 'deserved the chance'.
But his form this year has put him in pole position for a place on this winter's Ashes tour, chiefly as Bashir's understudy but perhaps as a left-field all-round option. For all the talk of Smith, England need to think about life after Ben Stokes. It might just be that Ahmed, batting in the top seven and bowling game-changing leg spin alongside four frontline seamers, is the perfect option.
'I've never been to Australia,' he says. 'Never played there. It looks a great place to play, and the Ashes is an incredible occasion. I'd love to be a part of it. I know the management, if they pick me, they back me 100 per cent. If they don't, it's because they don't think I'm the right man for the job there. I have full faith in their judgement.'
Whether Ahmed gets the Ashes call or not, he will be soaking up the series. In 2023, he spent a lot of time fielding in place of the injured Ollie Pope at Lord's, and describes it as 'some experience'. Even as he comes of age, his childlike love of the game remains; he admits he 'loves watching Rooty bat in the nets' and he found England's series against India 'proper' viewing.
'I know it's simple, but having fun in the game is important,' he says. 'If you asked any man on the street if they wanted to play in the Ashes, they'd jump at the chance. If I don't go, it'll be a great watch.'