SHOULD RASHID HAVE BEEN PICKED?
PAUL NEWMAN Cricket Correspondent
I CAN see both sides and there was a case to leave Rashid to concentrate on white-ball cricket until after next year’s World Cup. This is another bold call by the impressive Ed Smith. It was scandalous of Somerset to leave Dom Bess out of their last Championship match, while Jack Leach has been desperately unlucky not to bowl more overs, but England have probably picked their best two spinners in Rashid and Moeen Ali. And that can only be a good thing.
NASSER HUSSAIN Former England captain
I UNDERSTAND why they’ve done it but it’s a dangerous precedent to select someone who refuses to play red-ball cricket for a Test. It’s not doing the right thing by county cricket, it’s not doing the right thing by spinners who are busting a gut in the County Championship to get selected and it’s not doing the right thing by the spinners picked earlier this summer — Jack Leach and Dominic Bess.
DAVID LLOYD Sportsmail columnist
RASHID is one of the best two spinners in the country and this selection will carry the full backing of England captain Joe Root. He hasn’t bowled with a red ball for nearly a year but he has been playing cricket and bowling is bowling, whatever the colour — I’m not bothered whether it’s pink, white or green. The main thing is he’s been bowling terrifically well. And one more thing — he should never have been jettisoned in the first place.
RICHARD GIBSON Cricket reporter
THE remit for selection is to pick the best players and Ed Smith (right) has remained true to this. But the route taken does not sit comfortably. Rashid should have been told he was being considered for a Test recall with the proviso he made himself available for Yorkshire’s County Championship match at Old Trafford. It would have avoided unnecessary tension and developed his bowling rhythm.
LAWRENCE BOOTH Wisden editor
THE pitches for this series will be dry — conditions in which England struggle. So how will they take 20 wickets? Picking a bowler who can turn it both ways, like Rashid, is the minimum. It’s a risk, but there are no guarantees in international sport — as Virat Kohli found when he played forward to Rashid’s perfect leg break in the ODI at Headingley and lost his off stump. England won’t beat India in this heat without taking risks.
MICHAEL VAUGHAN Former England captain (on Twitter)
So, we have picked someone who cannot be a**** with four-day cricket for the Test team. Forget whether he is good enough or not, I find this decision ridiculous.
BEN TAYLOR Cricket fan ... and Daily Mail executive editor
THE (red) ball is now firmly in Adil Rashid’s court. I support Ed Smith’s decision to hand him a Test lifeline as he’s an exciting bowler who can take wickets. But it will be fascinating to see if he can cope with a new kind of pressure. Over to you, Adil!