England spinner Rehan Ahmed leaves India tour to attend urgent family matter
England won’t replace Ahmed for the final match of the Test series
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.England cricket will be without Rehan Ahmed for the rest of their tour of India cricket as the teenage leg-spinner is set to return home because of an urgent family matter.
The 19-year-old featured in the first three Tests but was left out of the penultimate contest in Ranchi as England selected slow left-armer Tom Hartley and off-break bowler Shoaib Bashir as their spinners.
The tourists do not intend to draft in a replacement for Ahmed, despite being left with 14 players for the final Test in Dharamshala in a fortnight and two frontline spinners in Hartley and Bashir.
A brief statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “Rehan Ahmed will return home for personal reasons with immediate effect from England men’s Test tour of India.
“He will not be returning to India. England will not be replacing Ahmed for the rest of the tour.”
Ahmed, England’s youngest senior cricketer in all three formats, has taken 11 wickets in the series at an average of 44, including six dismissals in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Rehan featured in Rajkot last week despite a visa problem in the build-up. He was given a temporary two-day visa before the issue was resolved and was praised for how he handled the situation by Stokes.
“The great thing about youth is they just take everything in their stride,” Stokes said last week. “He handled a situation that could have affected quite a lot of people in a different way very, very well.”
Middle-order batter Harry Brook withdrew ahead of the series because of personal reasons while left-arm spinner Jack Leach pulled out of the tour because of a knee injury sustained in the first Test.
India have also had to contend with a high-profile withdrawal in star batter Virat Kohli due to personal reasons, and injuries have deprived them of Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments