17-year-old Rehan Ahmed has been training with England 's ODI side, with the leg-spinner a potential long-term replacement for World Cup winner Adil Rashid.
At the age of 34, Rashid is entering the twilight of his career and, having been plagued by a chronic shoulder injury, it is important England start looking to the future. Matt Parkinson has been given a handful of opportunities but, having not been picked for the ODI series against India that Rashid missed in order to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, it appears England remain unconvinced by him.
Ahmed, meanwhile, was one of two wrist spinners named in the England Lions squad which faced South Africa in two 50-over warm-up matches earlier this month. He played in the first game, which England won by six wickets, and picked up an impressive 3-54 as he dismissed Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Janneman Malan.
"Since I was a kid, I've dreamed of playing for England but I try to live the moment," Ahmed told the Daily Mail. "Night time is for dreaming, so whenever I am awake I focus on the present and doing my job."
Ahmed has enjoyed a magnificent year so far, which began with him starring at the Under 19 World Cup as England finished runners-up. He then enjoyed an impressive T20 Blast campaign with Leicestershire, taking 19 wickets at an average of 20.15, with his displays in the competition earning him his Lions call-up.
"I loved the challenge," Ahmed added of his Lions experience. "It was a great experience. Even though I went for a few runs, the captain Tom Abell backed me and it's wickets that matter." However, Ahmed has long been on England's radar, having bowled to the Test team in the nets ahead of a series against Pakistan in 2016 when he was just 11 years old.
MCC head coach Steve Kirby was tasked with finding net bowlers and Ahmed was drafted in from club cricket in an attempt to replicate Pakistan's star leg-spinner Yasir Shah. And he managed to get both Ben Stokes and Sir Alastair Cook out during the session, earning himself an invite back the next year.
"As much as I tried to stay calm and bowl to them like normal people, I just couldn't, because I was bowling to Ben Stokes and Alastair Cook and people with Ashes hundreds, and bowling in the same nets as people with five-fors and Test-match wickets,"Ahmed told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year.
"It was crazy. I bowled Ben Stokes a couple of leg-spinners and a googly and he snicked off; he wasn't the happiest so I didn't celebrate… I just took the ball and walked back to my mark.
"But when I snicked off Alastair Cook, that was a bit more like it. He wasn't as bothered. But I didn't celebrate because he's probably the best player in Test cricket. So I was just lucky to do that."
Ahmed also got the opportunity to bowl alongside the late great Shane Warne, having been inspired by the Australian to take up leg spin in the first place. "Steve Kirby just dropped it on me during one of the sessions, saying I'm gonna meet Shane Warne," he added.
"I thought I was just going to sit down with him and have a chat - that was already amazing - but when he said 'come on, let's go have a bowl', I couldn't feel my toes!" And with the latest milestone being his invitation to train with England, it seems he may not be too far away from an international debut.
