Keeping the faith

With the help of modern technology, the 31-year-old organises his cricketing and religious schedule with an application called Muslim Pro.

Features including time frames for prayer time- the location of Halal restaurants, as well as the exact location of Makkah- allow Ahmed to easily coordinate cricket with his religious beliefs.

With a prayer mat always on hand and the availability of prayer rooms at both Etihad Stadium and the MCG, Ahmed can participate in prayer time at any stage.

Although he prays five times a day, the long time frames to pray in allow for Ahmed to avoid it during matches.

Another aspect of the Muslim religion that can have an impact when playing sport is the practice of Ramadan, where Muslims fast for an entire month.

During Ramadan, Ahmed was selected to make his first-class debut in Pakistan.

Even though it rained for the first three days of a four-day game, Ahmed still noted the hardships of playing in such testing conditions.

“It was very hard,” Ahmed said.

“When it’s not cricket season, we usually minimise training.”

While travelling or playing Premier Cricket, Ahmed brings his own cooking items to ensure that he is eating Halal food, food Muslims are allowed to eat under the Islamic dietary guidelines.

Noticing the increasing importance of religion at sporting clubs, the Renegades provided Halal food for Ahmed and allowed for him to utilise prayer time in the change rooms.

Although there are many aspects to the Muslim religion, Ahmed concedes that when it comes to cricket it is not as challenging as many people may think.

“When you start doing something at 10-years-old, it gets easier because you just get used to it,” Ahmed said.