England spinner Rehan Ahmed shared that his father left the Multan Cricket Stadium after they scored an impressive 823/7 against Pakistan in the first Test of the series. Rehan noted that his father prefers Pakistan not to lose, although he tries to conceal this.
Born in Nottingham, Rehan’s father Naeem hails from Pakistan but moved to England in 2001 with his wife. Rehan’s brothers, Raheem and Farhan, also began their cricketing journeys in England but have yet to play for the national team.
The 20-year-old recently revealed that his dad hopes no team performs so well against Pakistan that it leads to their defeat. He mentioned this in a conversation with BBC Test Match Special:
“In that first Test when we got 800 against Pakistan, my dad left the stadium and went back home, four hours away, because he couldn’t see his team getting anything. He tries to hide that he doesn’t care, but I can tell that he doesn’t want his team to lose. He always want us to do well, but he doesn’t want us to do that well where his team ends up losing.”
The total of 823/7 became the fourth-highest score in Test cricket, following Pakistan’s 556. Ultimately, Pakistan lost by an innings and 47 runs. However, the hosts equalized the series with a 152-run win in the second Test.
“We performed Friday prayers with the Pakistan team”- Rehan Ahmed
The young player commended the England management and captain Ben Stokes for accommodating their prayer schedules and rescheduling team meetings. The leg-spinner added:
“Baz, Stokesy and the management team have always put prayers and doing whatever we need to do first, then cricket comes after. We can’t ask for anything more. We’re forever grateful for that. We did Friday prayers with the Pakistan team.”
“We went to their hotel and Rizwan led the prayer. The week before that we went to the Mosque. England rearranged the team meeting for a couple of hours to make sure we could do our prayers, then come back.”
England has included three spinners in their XI for the third Test in Rawalpindi, featuring Rehan, starting on October 24. The team aims for their second consecutive away series victory against Pakistan.
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