England expected to leave Rehan Ahmed out of Test squad against New Zealand

EXCLUSIVE - GEORGE DOBELL: Due to the unfriendly conditions in New Zealand and Jack Leach's status as England's first choice spinner, Rehan will be encouraged to play franchise cricket to further his development or rest ahead of the English season

Rehan Ahmed is set to be left out of England's Test squad for New Zealand.

Rehan, who became the youngest man in history to play Test cricket for England in the final match of the series in Pakistan, enjoyed an excellent debut. His second-innings haul of 5 for 48 rendered him the youngest man to take a five-wicket haul on debut in Test history.

But the England management, reasoning that there will be far less scope for spin bowling in New Zealand, have decided he will be best served by missing the tour. With Jack Leach established as first choice spinner, Rehan could be destined for a month of running drinks and watching from the sidelines if he is included in the squad.

Instead, he will be encouraged to play franchise cricket, where the team management believe he will learn more, or rest ahead of the English season. Reports on Wednesday suggested that he had pulled out of the IPL auction to concentrate on playing first-class cricket for Leicestershire, but this was rejected by sources close to the player.

^{Rehan celebrates the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan during the third Test against Pakistan [Matthew Lewis/Getty Images]}

Either way, the decision to encourage him to play franchise cricket during the New Zealand tour might be interpreted as a reflection of how highly regarded Rehan is by the England management.

While his first international experience may have come in the Test team, he may well have a future in the shorter formats. At present, England look quite reliant upon the leg-spin of Adil Rashid, who will be 35 in February, and Rehan, also a leg-spinning allrounder, may be viewed as his long-term successor.

Stuart Broad and Matt Potts are both pushing for a return in the squad, but there is likely to be no place for Jamie Overton, Will Jacks or Liam Livingstone from the group that toured Pakistan. Jonny Bairstow is also unlikely to have recovered sufficiently to play and is instead aiming for a return in the IPL.

England are scheduled to play two Tests in February in New Zealand. They are expected to name their squad for the tour on Friday.

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