Rehan Ahmed credits Stokes, team environment for success of spinners

England’s Rehan Ahmed during the second Test at Visakhapatnam recently. Pic/Getty Images

Exceeding expectations, England's inexperienced spinners have outperformed their seasoned Indian counterparts in the first two Tests, and young Rehan Ahmed attributed it to team environment and Ben Stokes's leadership.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 at the moment but, amazingly enough, spin is one area in which the tourists have emerged winners.

It is quite remarkable that the trio of Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir have taken more wickets (33) than the formidable group made up of titans such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav (23).

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"That just shows how great the team environment is," Ahmed, 19, was quoted as saying in BBC. "Tommy and Bash, you've seen them come in and not be nervous and that's credit to the team. The environment and leadership we have, it makes you forget the players you're playing against. We just focus on what we need to do."

Even in terms of economy rate, the England spin attack is ahead of the Indians. With Stokes and Brendon McCullum at the helm, Ahmed cuts a relaxed figure.

"They [Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum] just don't care about how bad things can go. It's always about what good you can get out of it. So if I bowl four bad balls and get a wicket, that's better than bowling 16 good balls in a row," said Ahmed, who became the youngest player to play Test cricket for England when he made his debut at 18 years and 126 days old in Karachi in December 2022, signalling his arrival with a match-turning five-wicket haul in Pakistan's second innings.

According to Ahmed, Stokes' man-management skills extends beyond cricket. A teenage British Asian and a practising Muslim in the Bazball surrounding, Ahmed doesn't face any issue getting time off for Friday prayer, even at the expense of training. "I remember in Abu Dhabi there was a team day out on a Friday. We had Friday prayers. Obviously me and Bash [Bashir] were there. I messaged Wayno [Wayne Bentley], the team manager, asking if we could miss this day as we needed to pray. Stokes messaged me straightaway and said ‘come to me whenever you want this kind of stuff, I understand it fully'. And yes, he has stuck by his word," added Ahmed.

33 & 23
Total wickets taken by England's spin trio of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir and the total wickets taken by India's spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav in the series