Rehan Ahmed gets Ashes ticket, Mumbai Indians star to be England's ‘Shock Pick’

England, led by Ben Stokes, are set to take on the Pat Cummins-led side in the Ashes 2025-26 series in Australia later this year. Head coach Brendon McCullum stated that finalizing the second spinner remains one of the few unresolved decisions, with leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in contention for the series.

Rehan has had an outstanding season for Leicestershire in Division Two of the County Championship. The young English cricketer has performed with both bat and ball. He has taken 23 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 19 and also scored 507 runs at an impressive average of 50.7, including five centuries.

Rehan Ahmed Favored Over Liam Dawson as England’s Second Spinner for Ashes Series

According to The Telegraph, Rehan Ahmed, who last featured for England in a Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last year, is set to be included in England’s squad for the 2025-26 Ashes series.

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Rehan Ahmed is currently ahead of Liam Dawson for the role of England’s second spinner. Dawson played the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester but managed only one wicket across two innings.

Ahmed, who has appeared in five Tests so far, is expected to join off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, the first-choice spinner. Bashir had sustained a finger injury in July. Dawson was recalled to the national team following his impressive County Championship performances, but failed to replicate them in the Test match. Also, the report claimed that all-rounder Will Jacks could be the second off-spinning option in the Test squad if England want a cover for Shoaib Bashir.

We Need to Finesse That a Little Bit - Brendon McCullum

England are set to finalize their Ashes squad next week. Brendon McCullum said that they have yet to finalize a second spinner. McCullum stated that the second spinner would come into play if the first-choice spinner, Shoaib Bashir, becomes unavailable. He also added that the rest of the squad is decided.

“We need to have a little bit of communication around that, work out exactly what that role is, where we see there may be an opportunity,” the head coach said. “It may only be in one Test, or if something happens to Shoaib Bashir. We need to finesse that a little bit. Outside of that, I’d say we’re pretty certain of what we want.”

Rehan Ahmed Last Played a Test in October 2024 Against Pakistan

Rehan Ahmed has not featured in Tests since the fifth match against Pakistan in October 2024, with England picking Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, and Liam Dawson as their primary spin options. He is currently in Ireland for the three-match T20I series against Ireland.

England aim to reclaim the Ashes after a decade and improve their poor record in Australia. They have won just two of their last 17 Tests in Australia and lost 13.

The England national cricket team last won the Ashes series in Australia during the 2010-11 tour, where off-spinner Graeme Swann took 15 wickets, including seven in the Adelaide win, across five Tests.

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