Yorkshire CCC star Jafer Chohan aiming for the top with his feet on the ground

IT might seem strange to talk about someone’s Test prospects when they have played little or no first-class cricket, but this is the era of Bazball after all.

Rehan Ahmed had made only three first-class appearances before making his debut against Pakistan in 2022, taking a five-wicket haul after breaking Brian Close’s record as England’s youngest Test debutant.

Shoaib Bashir had appeared only six times on the first-class scene before he debuted against India in Visakhapatnam last February.

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The message from Test coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes seems clear: if you’re good enough, it doesn’t matter how many games you’ve got – or not got – under your belt.

Having a blast. Jafer Chohan in action for Yorkshire in the T20 Blast. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comHaving a blast. Jafer Chohan in action for Yorkshire in the T20 Blast. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Having a blast. Jafer Chohan in action for Yorkshire in the T20 Blast. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Jafer Chohan, the Yorkshire leg-spinner, knows that his initial target is to break into Yorkshire’s Championship side, a goal he hopes to achieve before summer is out.

Beyond that (and perhaps sooner rather than later, given McCullum and Stokes’s tendency to do things differently), he wants to follow in the footsteps of Ahmed and Bashir and to showcase his skills on the biggest stage of all.

“One hundred per cent - especially after seeing people like that play Test cricket,” he said.

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“I want to do that and, for me, I can actually start to believe that that’s a possibility.”

Chohan leads the Yorkshire players from the field after his career-best 5-14 against Durham at Headingley. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comChohan leads the Yorkshire players from the field after his career-best 5-14 against Durham at Headingley. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Chohan leads the Yorkshire players from the field after his career-best 5-14 against Durham at Headingley. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

England’s willingness to be brave with selection - especially with spinners - was highlighted during the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s.

Bashir got the nod over Jack Leach, his Somerset team-mate, while Jamie Smith was preferred as wicketkeeper to his county colleague Ben Foakes, Surrey’s first-choice gloveman.

“Shoab and Rehan are unbelievably talented bowlers, but it shows that the current England management are willing to back players at a young age,” added Chohan.

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“That maybe wouldn’t have happened in the past, and they’re not just taking the safer option as shown in that Test when they could very easily have played Jack Leach.

Adil Rashid, pictured at the T20 World Cup, has been a big source of help and support to Jafer Chohan. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images.Adil Rashid, pictured at the T20 World Cup, has been a big source of help and support to Jafer Chohan. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images.
Adil Rashid, pictured at the T20 World Cup, has been a big source of help and support to Jafer Chohan. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images.

“He’s been very good for England, but they took that braver option in looking further down the line.

“For me, it’s just about being as best prepared as I can and working hard so that one day I could be wearing the Three Lions, because you never know what could happen.”

Chohan’s rise to where he is already is proof of that.

As a student at Loughborough, where the ECB National Performance Centre is based, he happened to be bowling one day in the nets to Joe Root, who recommended that Yorkshire take a look.

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Rehan Ahmed, left, and Shoaib Bashir, despite limited first-class experience, have played Test cricket in the Bazball era. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images.Rehan Ahmed, left, and Shoaib Bashir, despite limited first-class experience, have played Test cricket in the Bazball era. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images.
Rehan Ahmed, left, and Shoaib Bashir, despite limited first-class experience, have played Test cricket in the Bazball era. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images.

A one-year rookie contract followed at the start of last year, which has since turned into a two-year pro deal.

Now a man who has gone on to become a regular in Yorkshire’s T20 side, having started out initially at the Middlesex Academy before representing Berkshire and the South Asian Cricket Academy, wants to continue his rapid progress.

“I just want to be the best bowler I can, and all the best bowlers have been able to do it in all three formats,” he said.

“A big thing for me is wanting to tick off my first-class debut and then work up from there, and that (red-ball) has been a big focus, especially over the winter and the start of the season.

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“Everything happens very fast, so from not being signed to then playing in the Blast - that happened very quickly. I’m hoping next year, having had another winter of working really hard on my red-ball skills, that I can go on to have much more of an impact.”

Chohan, who turned 22 earlier this month, is an amiable figure. He speaks well and possesses an excellent attitude.

Nor is he short of a role model in terms of plying his trade as a leg-spinner at Yorkshire.

For some time now he has been picking the brains of Adil Rashid, one of the best in the business, along with those of Rashid’s older brother, Amar, a fine cricketer and coach.

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“I look up to ‘Rash’ a lot and chat to him, and his message to me is always looking to take wickets and be positive,” said Chohan.

“It’s very easy to be scared in T20 of getting hit, but I think now I feel a lot more comfortable and I’ve got over that fear a lot more now and I just look to try and enjoy it. If I’m looking to take wickets, I bowl so much better, and that’s the whole fun in bowling leg-spin, trying to take wickets.

“I’ve worked a decent amount with ‘Rash’, but the majority has been with his brother; they’ve looked after me really well since I came here. I’ve done a lot of work with Amar in the last two years.”

With Rashid having not played for Yorkshire for just over two years, with England and franchise commitments taking precedence, Chohan’s emergence has been well-timed.

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He was touched that Rashid found time to check up on him while he was at the recent T20 World Cup, calling him up from the Caribbean, and he would like nothing more than to play in the same side as his mentor.

“That’s really what I want to be doing, to play a game with him would be great,” he said.

“I don’t want to be ‘fanboying’ too much, but obviously he is an idol of mine, so to be able to play with him would be great. I’m hoping at some point, when he’s not got England commitments, to play a game with him.

“Having spent a lot of time with him, my respect for him has gone to another level. Obviously everyone knows how good he is, but, for me, it’s just seeing the range he has in his skill because there’s a lot of bowlers who are very good but they’re quite one-dimensional in what they can do, but he can bowl quick, he can bowl slow, he’s got all the variations and he’s just extremely clever, which comes after a lot of years of playing and learning and working hard.”

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Chohan was inspired to take up leg-spin by the greatest of the great.

“The first game I went to, Rajasthan Royals played against Middlesex at Lord’s, so it was watching Shane Warne bowl,” he said.

“My dad was a fast bowler growing up, so he was like, ‘You’re not going to have the genetics for that, and you don’t want to be running in, so just bowl spin and make your life a little bit easier.’

“I was very lucky to watch Shane Warne bowl, and that was it. I knew leg-spin was what I wanted to do.”

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

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After a steady first year, Chohan has come into his own, returning successive hauls of 5-14 against Durham and 4-30 against Worcestershire going into last night’s game at home to Nottinghamshire.

That Championship call-up is what he craves next, then who knows. In this era of Bazball, anything is possible.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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