England’s Test coach Brendon McCullum has backed youngster Rehan Ahmed to be picked in the upcoming Indian Premier League mini-auction to be taking place in Kochi on December 23. While speaking on BBC’s Test Match Special, McCullum said that it would be great to see Rehan being picked by an IPL franchise during the upcoming mini-auction as well.
“It would be great. It would be awesome if he did. Why not? Why not get an opportunity to go and play under different coaches and different captains and rub shoulders with different players and pick up those experiences? What 18-year-old kid anywhere else in world cricket is going to get those chances? I think we should encourage it,” said Brendon McCullum.
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“He’s got a real future. He’s a guy who has been on the radar of English cricket for a little while. It took some courage from Stokesy [Ben Stokes] and a few people to thrust him into this opportunity. The more we’re prepared to do that, the more we can discover how talented people are and how much they can grow on the big stage as well,” McCullum further added.
However, Brendon McCullum has also said that he encourages the youngster to play as much franchise cricket as he can and get as much experience around the world as well. McCullum also said that the most important thing for him now is to gain valuable experience as well.
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“The important thing for Rehan is that we continue to look after him. He won’t be in every squad and I’ll encourage him to play as much franchise cricket as he can, and get as many experiences around the globe and play with different players, under different coaches and in different conditions. His skill is not a problem, his attitude is absolutely brilliant. We’ve just got to get as much experience into him as possible. That’s not just at Test level but in leagues as well. I couldn’t be happier for him: it will give other kids around England some motivation that if you work hard enough and you’ve got skill and the game is your passion, then you can actually achieve it, maybe sooner than you thought,” concluded Brendon McCullum.
