Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed will become the youngest player to play Test cricket for England after making his debut in the third Test against Pakistan.
The 18-year-old broke Yorkshire legend Brian Close’s record which stood since 1949.
In Karachi, Ahmed and wicketkeeper Ben Fuchs came in place of fast bowler James Anderson and all-rounder Will Jacks.
England have already won the series and are looking for a 3-0 clean sweep.
No visiting team has beaten Pakistan 3-0 at home to date, while England have only achieved three clean sweeps in overseas Test series of three matches or more.
Leicestershire’s Ahmed will be 18 years and 126 days old when the Test begins on Saturday. Former captain Close was 18 years and 149 days old when he played against New Zealand at Old Trafford 73 years ago.
“I’m watching him closely, without telling him I’m watching him closely,” England captain Ben Stokes told JEE News.
“It’s a great opportunity to let Rihan out and really express herself. There’s not a lot of pressure to perform, just to have fun.
“You only make your debut once, you can never make it again. If we can make him feel like he had the ball once, and he goes on with wickets and runs, that will be great. “
Ahmed has been included in England’s squad despite missing early training on Friday because he was feeling unwell.
She won’t be the youngest person to play a Test for England – left-arm spinner Holly Colon was 15 years and 336 days when she played for the women’s team against Australia in 2005.
The Leicestershire player has played just three first-class matches and has taken nine wickets at an average of 30. He was part of the England squad that reached the finals of the Under-19 World Cup that year and played for the England Lions against the touring South. Africans in domestic summer.
He was then included in the England Lions squad for a training camp in the United Arab Emirates and was included in the full squad for a warm-up match in Abu Dhabi in November.
Ahmed added a second front-line spin bowling option to the tourists’ XI on the Karachi pitch, which is expected to turn.
He considers himself a batsman and scored a century in his last first-class match against Leicestershire in September, batting at number five against Derbyshire.
Stokes added that it is very difficult to say which is his greatest strength, the bat or the ball. “He likes to show off with the bat, because he has so many different shots. I’m excited to see what he’s got with the ball.
“Our message to him is ‘take wickets with the ball, hit it with the bat and chase it down the field until it gets four’.”
Focus takes the gloves from Ollie Pope after missing the first test due to illness, then drops out of the second test.
Jacks made his debut as a substitute for Fuchs in the first Test and took six wickets with his off-spin in the first innings of England’s win at Rawalpindi, but bowled just eight overs in the second Test victory at Multan.
Stokes confirmed the decision to drop Anderson was purely to save the 40-year-old from next summer’s home Ashes series against Australia.
“After going 2-0 up, it was the right choice to let Jimmy rest,” Stokes said.
“Given what we have coming up, I’m at the back of my mind looking at the Ashes. I want to have a group of eight or nine bowlers.
“If we pick Jimmy and something happens to him, I’ll be kicking myself forever if he gets hurt because of it. It’s more about taking care of him than anything else.”
Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from Test cricket after the last match of the series.
Azhar, 37, has scored 7,097 runs in 96 Tests – only four Pakistani batsmen have scored more.
He was left out of Pakistan’s side that suffered defeat in the second Test, but a place at the top of the order could be created due to Imam-ul-Haq’s struggle with a hamstring injury.
