The 18-year-old became England’s youngest men’s cricket tester when he made his debut in the recently concluded series final in Pakistan.
He went on to become the youngest debutant from any country to take five wickets in one inning, with his 5-48 run in Karachi helping England to a 3-0 shutout run.
His performance in an eight-wicket victory alerted the rest of the cricketing world to his undoubted ability and came just days before Friday’s players’ auction in Kochi for the money-making IPL.
Ahmed is one of 27 England players who will go under the hammer.
There had been reports that Ahmed would ignore the lure of Twenty20 franchise competition in order to start the County Championship season with Leicestershire in April.
But even though Ahmed had only played three top-class games before making his Test debut, England management believe the IPL could help, rather than hinder, his development.
England red ball coach Brendon McCullum, a seasoned IPL campaigner, was enthusiastic about Ahmed taking part in a tournament that features many of the world’s cricketing stars.
The former New Zealand captain, speaking to BBC Radio this week, said: “It would be great if he (Ahmed) did. I’ve been involved in the IPL a few times so sometimes it works for guys and sometimes it just doesn’t work. ‘t. Why not?”
McCullum added: “Why not have the opportunity to go and play under different coaches and different captains and be around different players and have those experiences? What 18-year-old kid anywhere else in the world of cricket is going to get those chances? I think it should be encouraged.”
