06 March 2023 , 15:33
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England history-maker Rehan Ahmed says meeting and bowling in front of the late great Shane Warne at the tender age of 13 was a "changing point" for him.
Ahmed became the youngest ever men's Test cricketer for England when he made his debut against Pakistan in December and the 18-year-old is also now England's youngest ever men's ODI cricketer.
However, he has long been on England's radar having bowled against the senior team in the nets as an 11-year-old ahead of a Test series against Pakistan and notably dismissing his future captain Ben Stokes.
His performances earned him repeated opportunities as a net bowler and two years later after his first stint, Ahmed got the opportunity to bowl in front of Warne while he was working for Sky Sports as a commentator.
in a clip that has since gone viral, the greatest leg-spinner of all time tells a 13-year-old Ahmed: "That is awesome man! Really, really good, I am going to keep a close eye on you. I think we will be commentating on you very soon. I think you are going to be playing first-class cricket by the age of 15!"
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Warne was only slightly off in his prediction as Ahmed made his professional debut for Leicestershire at the age of 16 in a One-Day Cup match against Yorkshire, before going on to make history with England as an 18-year-old.
And speaking ahead of his ODI debut, Ahmed reflected on his meeting with Warne in an in-house interview with England. "I think he was probably the changing point of me as a leg-spinner because the first time I met him it just made me want to do it more," he said.
Ahmed reflected on meeting Warne ahead of making his ODI debut for England against Bangladesh (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)"I met him when I was 13 at Lord's and it just made me think 'I want to keep bowling leg-spin'. He's a big loss for cricket."
Ahmed's dad Naeem also spoke about the meeting with Warne after watching his son make his Test debut last year, pinpointing it as the moment he realised he had the potential to be "something special".
Naeem told BBC Test Match Special: "When he bowled to Alastair Cook and the England players, that was when Shane Warne saw him as well and said a few things about him, and that really meant something serious to me. It made me think, 'wow, if Shane Warne thinks this, then yes he is going to be something special'."