Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed handed England white-ball call-up

Ahmed became England’s youngest men’s Test cricketer when he lined up against Pakistan in Karachi

England have called up teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to their white-ball squads for the first time (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Archive)

England have named 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in their white-ball squads for the first time ahead of the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.

Ahmed became England’s youngest men’s Test cricketer when he lined up against Pakistan in Karachi in December and marked the occasion by taking a five-wicket haul.

The Leicestershire spinner had played just three first-class matches before making his Test debut, but has slightly more experience in white-ball cricket having played 19 T20 matches and seven List A games for his county.

Lancashire fast bowler Saqib Mahmood has been included in the ODI squad for the first time since the back stress fracture he suffered in May.

The 25-year-old is currently with the England Lions in Sri Lanka, but has not bowled so far during the red-ball series.

Somerset’s Tom Abell, who is set to captain the England Lions in the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka, has received his maiden call-up for both the ODI and T20 squads.

There was no place for Alex Hales however, who is set to play franchise cricket in the Pakistan Super League after only returning to the national set-up last summer.

Hales played a crucial role in England’s T20 World Cup victory in Australia in November after a positive recreational drugs test on the eve of the 2019 World Cup resulted in three-and-a-half years in the international wilderness.

Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Jason Roy were also selected by PSL franchises, but have been included for the tour of Bangladesh.

• 1st ODI: Bangladesh v England - March 1, Dhaka
• 2nd ODI: Bangladesh v England – March 3, Dhaka
• 3rd ODI: Bangladesh v England – March 6, Chattogram
• 1st IT20: Bangladesh v England – March 9, Chattogram
• 2nd IT20: Bangladesh v England – March 12, Dhaka
• 3nd IT20: Bangladesh v England – March 14, Dhaka

James Vince was named as part of the ODI squad after not featuring in the most recent 50-over series in South Africa.

England will play three ODIs and three T20s in Bangladesh from March 1 to 14, which will be the first T20 matches since Jos Buttler’s side became world champions in November.

ODI Squad: Jos Buttler (Lancashire, captain), Tom Abell (Somerset), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Sam Curran (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

IT20 Squad: Jos Buttler (Lancashire, captain), Tom Abell (Somerset), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).