Rehan Ahmed signs Leicestershire contract extension

The 17-year-old made seven appearances for the first team in last season’s Royal London Cup, scoring 89 runs and taking five wickets

Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has signed a contract extension with Leicestershire.

The 17-year-old, who first represented the club’s academy at Under-15s, earned his first professional contract in July 2021 after impressing for the second XI.

Last season, he made seven appearances for the first team in the Royal London Cup, scoring 89 runs and taking five wickets. Ahmed was also named in the County Select squad which played against India at Chester-le-Street in July, although he did not feature in the three-day match.

On the international stage, Ahmed impressed for England Under-19s against West Indies Under-19s in September, scoring 126 runs and taking six wickets in five appearances, and was recently named in Richard Dawson’s squad for the Under-19 tour of Sri Lanka later in November.

^{Rehan Ahmed (centre) celebrates taking a wicket against Somerset in the Royal London Cup}

Commenting on his contract extension, Ahmed said: "The last six months have been amazing for me, from earning my first professional contract in cricket, to making my debut to claiming my first wicket and having the opportunity to represent my country.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my short time with Leicestershire so far, and I am delighted to extend my stay at the Uptonsteel County Ground. I can’t wait to get to work ahead of the 2022 season with the Running Foxes."

Head coach, Paul Nixon, added: "We are absolutely delighted that Rehan [Ahmed] has accepted a new deal with the Running Foxes, he has really embraced our philosophies and strategies here at Leicestershire already.

"It is outstanding how quickly he has transitioned through our academy set-up and into the first-class arena as a professional athlete. We are looking forward to watching him with England U19 in Sri Lanka in the coming weeks and are excited to see what 2022 has in store for him."