Rashid hits back at former captain Vaughan over ‘stupid’ comments
leg-spinner Adil Rashid has hit back at Michael Vaughan after the former captain described his selection for the first Test against India as “ridiculous”.
Rashid was included in a 13-man squad even though he has opted out of playing first-class County Championship cricket for Yorkshire this season.
His selection for next week’s first Test on the back of his oneday form has not gone down well with Vaughan, an ex-teammate of Rashid’s for Yorkshire, who described his selection as “stab in the back for county cricket”.
Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, he added: “It basically says our county game, the finishing school for our cricketers, does not matter any more and that it is irrelevant.”
Rashid, who won the last of his 10 Test caps in Chennai more than 18 months ago, said Vaughan was “talking nonsense” and said his opinions “did not matter to anybody”.
“When I mentioned at the start of the year I will not be playing red-ball cricket, he tweeted something then,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “He was being controversial and saying his stupid things then too.
“I don’t think he has an agenda against me. I played under and with him but sometimes ex-players come out and start talking nonsense about current players.
“There will be people out there who are not happy. There will be haters, like the pundits who are saying it is a disgrace. That is not my fault.”
LONDON:England