Rehan Ahmed's inclusion in Tests was the plan all along: Rob Key 

Rehan Ahmed playing for Southern Brave [Source: Twitter]

Youngster Rehan Ahmed's inclusion in England's Test side for the upcoming tour of Pakistan may have been surprising for many, but that was not the case for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) men's director of cricket, Robert Key. 

Ahmed excluded from the initial 15-man squad, was drafted quite late into the touring party, which will play three Tests against Pakistan starting December 1. According to ESPNcricinfo, Key revealed Ahmed was always in the plans for Tests, and time with the likes of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes would help the lad develop more.

"The plan for Rehan was that we always looked to bring him into the squad. This is the best way to aid his development. He is a serious talent, but he might be four or five years off being the finished product. He is nowhere near the finished article at the moment,"

The former England batter stated the decision to delay Ahmed's announcement was to avoid any criticism over his inclusion. 

"How we've done it, we wanted it to be more of a soft launch, rather than just announcing him in a squad and away you go, with all the media speculation,"

Ahmed starred for England in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 and has since made large strides in domestic cricket.

The leg-spinner has played 3 First-Class, 9 List-A and 19 T20s. The 18-old-year ended up scoring a hundred and picking a five-wicket haul for Leicestershire in only his third County appearance. 

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