Less than three months after becoming England's youngest ever men's Test cricketer, Rehan Ahmed made history once again as he became their youngest ever men's ODI cricketer when he was handed his debut against Bangladesh in Chattogram.
With Will Jacks ruled out of the remainder of the tour with a thigh injury, Ahmed replaced him for the final ODI at the tender age of just 18 years and 205 days old. In the process, he has broken a record held by the late Ben Hollioake who was 19 years and 195 days old when he made his ODI debut against Australia almost 26 years ago in 1997.
Ahmed was presented with his England cap by fellow leg-spinner Adil Rashid and the teenager is certainly in with a chance of making the 50-over World Cup squad later this year, given the tournament will be staged in more spin-friendly conditions in India.
And having played alongside Ahmed when he made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi and promptly picked up a five wicket haul, England quick Mark Wood believes the teenager is "the real deal".
Speaking ahead of the match, Wood said: "He is the real deal. He's got youthful enthusiasm and excitement and it's as if he's playing a club game. He wants to bowl and whack it.
"He has a nature about him which is just lovely to see. It's quite infectious and I am sure that he will at some point play on this tour. And I am really looking forward to seeing how he goes.
"When he played his Test match, it was like it was not a big deal, and I think he will be exactly the same in whatever format it is. I know the pressure might be on a little bit more in ODIs where people try to whack you but I think he will deal with it fine because all he wants to do is show off and bring that side of him off."
England skipper Jos Buttler is also "really excited" by Ahmed's potential and believes he will benefit greatly from working with Rashid in Bangladesh. "Rehan's a really exciting talent," Buttler said ahead of the series.
"He's still a very young man - just a teenager. We're excited about his development and where we think he can go and it's great to have him in and around the England set-up. Someone like Adil Rashid has been such a star performer for us for a long period of time, Rehan getting to spend time with him and discuss bowling and watching each other bowl will be a huge benefit to him and a big step in his development.
"We're really excited to have someone with so much talent, not just with the ball, with the bat as well. We're looking forward to watching him develop and hopefully turning himself into a brilliant international cricketer."
