Ahmed to become youngest man to play for England

Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed will become the youngest man to play Test cricket for England after being handed a debut in the third Test against Pakistan.

Ahmed and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes come into the side in Karachi in place of pace bowler James Anderson and all-rounder Will Jacks.

England have already won the series and are looking for a 3-0 clean sweep.

No visiting team has ever beaten Pakistan 3-0 in their country, while England have only ever earned three previous clean sweeps in away Test series of three matches or more.

Leicestershire’s Ahmed will be aged 18 years and 126 days when the Test begins on Saturday. Former captain Close was 18 years and 149 days when he played against New Zealand at Old Trafford 73 years ago.

“I’ve been watching him closely, without letting him know I’ve been watching him closely,” England captain Ben Stokes told BBC Sport.

“It’s a great opportunity to let Rehan go out and really express himself. There’s not too much pressure to perform, just to have fun.

“You only make your debut once, you can never make it again. If we can make him feel like he’s had a ball of a time out there, and he walks off with wickets and runs, that would be great.”

Ahmed has been named in the England side despite leaving training early on Friday because he felt unwell.

He will not be the youngest person to play a Test for England – left-arm spinner Holly Colvin was 15 years and 336 days when she played for the women’s team against Australia in 2005.

The Leicestershire man has played only three first-class matches, taking nine wickets at an average of 30. He was part of the England team that reached the final of the Under-19 World Cup this year and played for England Lions against the touring South Africans in the home summer.

He was then named in the England Lions squad for a training camp in the United Arab Emirates and added to the full squad during a warm-up game in Abu Dhabi in November.

Ahmed adds a second frontline spin-bowling option to the tourists’ XI on a Karachi pitch that is expected to turn.

He considers himself to be a batter and made a century batting at number five for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in his last first-class match in September.

“It’s very tough to tell what his biggest strength is, bat or ball,” added Stokes. “He likes to show off with the bat, because he’s got so many different shots. I’m very excited to see what he’s got with the ball.

“Our message to him is ‘look to take wickets with the ball, smack it with the bat and in the field chase after it until it goes for four’.”

Foakes takes the gloves from Ollie Pope after missing the first Test through illness, then being left out of the second.

Jacks made his debut as a late replacement for Foakes in the first Test and took six wickets with his off-spin in the first innings of England’s win in Rawalpindi, but bowled only eight over in the second-Test victory in Multan.

Stokes confirmed that the decision to omit Anderson was purely to protect the 40-year-old with a home Ashes series against Australia next summer.

“Being 2-0 up, it was the right choice to let Jimmy have a rest,” said Stokes.

“Looking at what we’ve got coming up, I am in the back of my mind looking at the Ashes. I want to have a group of eight or nine bowlers.

“If we were to pick Jimmy and something happened to him, I’d be kicking myself forever if it led to him being injured. It’s about looking after him more than anything else.”

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has announced he will retire from Test cricket after the final match of the series.

Azhar, 37, has played 96 Tests, scoring 7,097 runs – only four Pakistan batters have ever scored more.

He was left out of the Pakistan team that was beaten in the second Test but a space at the top of the order could arise due to Imam-ul-Haq’s struggle with a hamstring injury.

Analysis – ‘He’s lived up to England dream’

Jigar Naik, Head of talent pathway at Leicestershire, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live

He is very talented. I think a lot of things he does behind the scenes goes unnoticed; he works extremely hard. He’s an exciting talent, that’s for sure.

When people saw him a couple of years ago, everyone earmarked him to be an England cricketer and he’s lived up to that dream. It’s fantastic to see.

He’s a brilliant character: he’s bubbly, he’s infectious. I think every time he gets a bat in his hand, he wants to play cricket – and that’s what rubs off on everyone around him.

But he’s also the type of character that takes everything on board and just takes everything in his stride. Every time he has stepped up in terms of playing white-ball cricket for Leicestershire or on his first-class debut for us, he’s taken it in his stride and everything has come naturally to him.

Who is Rehan Ahmed? The teenager’s career so far

• July 2016: Makes headlines after dismissing Ben Stokes and Sir Alastair Cook in a net session at Lord’s before England’s Test match against Pakistan, aged just 11.
• July 2021: Makes Leicestershire debut in One-Day Cup against Yorkshire. Goes on to play seven matches, taking five wickets and averaging 44.5 with the bat.
• November 2021: Signs contract extension with Leicestershire despite not yet making a County Championship appearance.
• January-February 2022: Plays for England at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, taking 12 wickets in four innings.
• April 2022: Bought by Southern Brave for The Hundred and extends contract with Leicestershire until 2026.
• May 2022: Makes County Championship debut for Leicestershire.
• September 2022: Scores maiden century against Derbyshire in the County Championship.
• November 2022: Added to England’s Test squad for their three-Test tour of Pakistan.
• December 2022: Handed debut to become the youngest man to play Test cricket for England.