PAK vs ENG | Pakistan tour is real opportunity for ‘confident’ Rehan Ahmed, believes Brendon McCullum

The three-match Test series between Babar Azam-led Pakistan and Ben Stokes’ England will begin on December 1 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Ahead of the series, Rehan Ahmed, England’s 18-year-old bowling all-rounder made headlines after earning his maiden call-up for the national squad. Riding on his excellent contributions to Leicestershire, for whom he picked up nine wickets and scored 195 runs in three First-Class matches, Rehan made the cut for the tour and is on his way to becoming England's youngest Test player of all time.

England’s Test head coach Brendon McCullum has heaped praise on Rehan, labelling the youngster ‘confident’ after watching him closely in his short career. However, McCullum admitted that Rehan’s success against Pakistani batters, that too in their own backyard, won’t come easily and he must hurdle past the challenges.

“What a fabulous kind of opportunity for someone like him. "He seems really confident in himself,” McCullum told the Daily Telegraph, as quoted by geo.tv.

"He's 18 and on an England tour to Pakistan so there are some real opportunities there and there'll be some challenges along the way, but it's our job to figure this out. We know that he's not the finished product. He's a long way away from that, but he's got something that is pretty kind of special."

Before taking on Pakistan, England played a three-day match against the Lions in the UAE last week during which Rehan's late inclusion was confirmed.