Rehan Ahmed reveals Ben Stokes' heart-warming gesture over Friday prayers

One of the big talking points of the ongoing Test series between India and England has been the performance of the visiting team’s inexperienced spinners. English leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who had played just one Test match before this series, has now credited his side’s success to the supportive team environment and how skipper Ben Stokes has been leading them.

India bounced back after the defeat in the opening contest in Hyderabad and the series is currently locked at 1-1. It’s noteworthy that Ahmed, along with Jack Leach, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, succeeded in picking up more wickets (33) than the experienced Indian spin attack, comprising big names like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. Indian spinners have managed to claim 23 wickets between them.

Rehan Ahmed, 19, recently spoke about the positive atmosphere within the team and also praised his teammates for exhibiting composure. He hailed the environment in the dressing room and the team’s ethos for their performance. Rehan said how Stokes has been a supportive leader and also spoke about an incident during their training camp in Abu Dhabi where Stokes accommodated their religious practices without even a second thought.

“I remember a time in Abu Dhabi where there was a team day out on a Friday,” said Ahmed in an interview to BBC. “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 because we needed to pray. Stokes messaged me straightaway and said ‘come to me whenever you want about this kind of stuff, I understand it fully’. And yes he’s stuck by his word,” he added.

Rehan also said that Tom Hartly and Shoaib Bashir entered the side without being nervous and he attributed this to the supportive environment fostered by the team. “The environment and the leadership we have, it does make you kind of forget the players you are playing against – we just focus on what we need to do,” he said.

With the Test series currently level at 1-1, the third match between India and England is scheduled to start on February 15 in Rajkot.