'It's all about me, not rivals': Rehan Ahmed says Shane Warne, Adil Rashid shaped his approach

New Delhi : Rehan Ahmed is widely seen as England’s big spin hope. At 21, he is preparing to take on a larger role as lead spinner, with 38-year-old Adil Rashid nearing the twilight of his career. For now, Rehan is hoping for a chance against India in the T20I series starting Wednesday.

But spending time with fellow leg-spinner Rashid has become central to his growth as an attacking spinner.

Rashid, it may be noted, has been among the more successful spinners against India over the past decade.“I was watching Adil bowl yesterday. He’s not played cricket since the World Cup. It was like he’d never been away. It’s more about what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it. It’s not about trying to do certain things against a particular batter. You shift all the focus on to yourself,” Rehan told TOI on Tuesday. “That’s a big learning I’ve taken from him. It’s not really about the opposition as much.

I think it puts more pressure on you if you’re thinking about their game and their strengths,” he added.

It is not Rashid alone. Rehan also draws inspiration from his meeting with the legendary Shane Warne when he was still a teenager. Warne, too, had spoken to him about the aura and confidence of a leg-spinner. “First of all, meeting him and then getting to bowl in front of him and get some tips from him was a great moment. I still implement them in my bowling today.

He spoke about a few small things. It was more about the aura he had around bowling and confidence. He was always bowling with a smile and stuff like that. It has helped me very much in my career so far,” Rehan said of the viral video in which Warne was seen predicting that he would soon play for England.Rehan does not quite agree with the perception that Indian batters have struggled against quality spin of late. Instead, he says he is eager to bowl to the best Indian batters in the series if given the opportunity.

He believes he is in a better space now than he was during England’s Test tour of India in 2024. “We were a very young and inexperienced spin group when we toured India. It was an experience just watching Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep bowl.

They were at a different stage of their careers. They felt much more comfortable with their game,” he said.Rehan was fast-tracked into international cricket at 18 under the captaincy of Ben Stokes in 2022.

The influence of Stokes’ ultra-aggressive approach is expected to remain as Harry Brook grows into a leadership role.“Stokesy was obviously one of probably the most influential cricketers that England have ever produced. His personality around the changing room was what people probably valued the most. And even with Brookie, he’s quite young, but he’s an unbelievable player,” Rehan said.(In association with official broadcasters Sony Sports Network)