England’s Rehan Ahmed ‘enjoying the ride’ as he stakes claim for semi-final spot

Rehan Ahmed intends to “keep enjoying the ride” as he insisted he is “not too bothered” about hanging on to his England place for their T20 World Cup semi-final.

The 21-year-old warmed the bench during England’s campaign until being called upon for their final Super 8 match against New Zealand, preferred to Jamie Overton on a slow, turning wicket in Colombo.

On his World Cup debut, the leg-spinning all-rounder took two for 28, including a wicket with his first delivery, before a seven-ball 19 not out helped England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

England now have a decision to make about whether to stick with Rehan or bring back fast bowler Overton ahead of a probable showdown against either India or the West Indies in Mumbai next Thursday.

There may even be a case to play both – which would likely mean sacrificing a batter, such as the out-of-form Jos Buttler – but Rehan will defer to head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Harry Brook.

“I’m not too bothered about my place in the team,” Rehan said. “I think Baz and Brooky will definitely put out the best team they think is going to win, as they did (on Friday night).

“I just want to make an impression whenever I do get the chance. I know the team balance right now is great and that’s why we are where we are. I’m very easy.

“It’s not a personal thing for me, it’s a World Cup, it’s my first World Cup to be in. I’ll just keep enjoying the ride, if I get the nod I’ll play and if not then I’ll give water to the boys.”

Despite topping their group after beating Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand, England will only discover their fate for the knockout stages on Sunday following results in the other pool.

If South Africa overcome Zimbabwe then England will be at the Wankhede Stadium to take on defending champions India or the Windies, who defeated Brook’s side at the same venue two-and-a-half weeks ago.

England, though, have lost just twice under Brook’s captaincy in 18 T20s, a remarkable statistic given the unpredictable nature of the format, and they showed their mettle against the Black Caps.

Needing 42 off the last 17 balls, Rehan thumped his second delivery over the rope before a clutch six off Mitchell Santner allowed Will Jacks to seal a scarcely credible four-wicket win in the last over.

Rehan, England’s youngest debutant across all three formats, admitted he embraced the pressure after being asked whether he felt stressed about the situation the team was in.

“Cricket’s a privilege and you train all your life for the moments like that,” Rehan said.

“I was just happy to be in that moment. I was very, very happy when I did get the chance to try and win a game for England, not more so for me personally, just to win a game.

“I think stress is the wrong word for it. Obviously there’s pressure on, but then it’s a happy place. If you do it well then it would be good for you. It’s more of a free hit for me.

“I went out there with no intentions of looking at the scoreboard. It was trying to hit three or four sixes, I got two away and Jacksy did the rest.”