Bairstow backs Rashid to cope with demands of red-ball cricket

LONDON: England wicketkeeperbatsman Jonny Bairstow feels leg-spinner Adil Rashid will be able to put aside the rumblings his selection to the England Test team has generated and continue from where he left off in the onedayers against India.

Rashid was selected for the first of five Tests against India despite quitting red-ball cricket ahead of the 2018 county season and having not played a firstclass game since September. Former England captain Michael Vaughan dubbed it “ridiculous” before Rashid hit back. Another former skipper Nasser Hussian felt Rashid’s Test recall sets a dangerous precedent for county cricket. Legendary allrounder Ian Botham, however, termed these criticisms unnecessary.

Bairstow, who is Rashid’s teammate in Yorkshire, refused to be drawn into the controversy but said the leg-spinner must be excited to have got the England call-up for the Test series starting on August 1 in Birmingham.

“The biggest honour you can have is to go out and play Test cricket for England. It is an exciting challenge for him (Rashid), as for us all, going from white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket,” said Bairstow.

“He has bowled me with plenty of leg-breaks over the years,” said Bairstow, who has been playing with Rashid since his teenage days.

Rashid has not played a firstclass game since September but Bairstow feels the leg-spinner has enough maturity to deal with the challenges of adapting to the longer format after a gap.

“I think he has matured a lot. If he is landing his leg-spinner, if he is landing his googly, he just has to do it a few more times other than the 10 overs he has been bowling,” said the 28-year-old Bairstow who has played in 54 Tests since 2012.