Rehan Ahmed will be sent to the Caribbean for England Lions' series against West Indies A after losing his place in Brendon McCullum's white-ball squads. The Lions will play three T20s and five 50-over games in St Kitts and Nevis next month in Jonathan Trott's first tour as their new head coach.
Rehan, 22, failed to impress when he was picked for two ODIs against Sri Lanka last month, and has missed out on England's squads for their tours to Pakistan and Australia, despite recently signing a new central contract. As a result, the ECB has instead included him in both Lions squads, which will be led by Thomas Rew (T20) and Dan Lawrence (50-over).
Trott, who will take charge of the Lions this winter after Andrew Flintoff's resignation, suggested that Rehan's inclusion was designed to help him win his England place back. "I want to create a culture where England players will benefit from coming back and working in this environment to push for national team selection across formats and by performing and helping the Lions to win games of cricket," he said.
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"I'm excited to get to work with a hugely talented group of players starting with this white-ball tour of the Caribbean," Trott added. "I've spoken about how important the Lions [programme] was in my career, and now it's my role to help prepare younger players for what lies ahead of them in international cricket."
The squads feature nine players who have recently signed England deals for 2026-27: Rehan, Lawrence and Sam Cook (50-over only) are on full central contracts, while Mason Crane, James Coles (both 50-over only), Rew, Ben McKinney, Eddie Jack and Liam Patterson-White are all on development contracts.
Rob Key, England's managing director, said this week that the ECB had made clear to players signing development contracts that they would be expected to make themselves available for Lions tours as a result, even at the cost of some franchise deals in the winter. "We think Lions cricket is massive," he said, "especially with 50-over cricket in particular, because it gives them a chance to play a format they don't get to play a lot of."
Coles, Jack and Rew will all leave the Lions tour after the third of five one-day matches to travel to Australia for England's T20I series. Asa Tribe's availability for the start of the T20 fixtures may be affected by his inclusion in Jersey's squad for their upcoming Challenge League fixtures in Kenya, which form part of the qualification process for next year's 50-over World Cup.
Rew's selection as T20 captain follows his success leading England Under-19s to the World Cup final in Zimbabwe earlier this year, while his older brother James is included in both squads after missing out on an ECB development contract. Ben Mayes, who also played at the World Cup, features in both squads.
Worcestershire seamer Adam Finch has won his first Lions call-up after impressing in the Blast, while Yorkshire allrounder Matt Revis - another player to recently sign a development contract - has missed out after reportedly undergoing Achilles surgery.
The Lions are also due to tour South Africa (November 25-December 23) and Sri Lanka (February 18-March 14) this winter, including playing two four-day games in South Africa.
Chris Dehring, CWI chief executive, said when announcing the cancellation of West Indies' regional Super50 competition last month that the Lions' tour would provide "prospective ODI players" the chance to "enhance their chances of selection" ahead of next year's World Cup qualifiers.
England Lions tour to St Kitts and Nevis
T20 squad: Thomas Rew (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Scott Currie, Adam Finch, Calvin Harrison, Jack Haynes, Eddie Jack, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, James Rew, Naavya Sharma, Ekansh Singh, Asa Tribe
50-over squad: Dan Lawrence (capt), Rehan Ahmed, James Coles*, Sam Cook, Mason Crane, Adam Finch, Jack Haynes, Eddie Jack*, Ben Kellaway, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, James Rew, Thomas Rew*, Naavya Sharma, Ekansh Singh, Asa Tribe
*will leave after third match for Australia T20I series
Fixtures vs West Indies A: November 1, 3, 4 - T20 series (Conaree Sports Club); November 7, 9, 11, 14, 16 - one-day series (all Warner Park, except third match at Conaree Sports Club)
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at Cricinfo. @mroller98