RASHID MISSES INDIA CLASHES TO MAKE MECCA PILGRIMAGE

ADIL RASHID will miss England’s white-ball fixtures against India in July as he embarks on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. This year, Hajj is scheduled to take place from July 7-12 and the pilgrimage is mandatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able to travel to Mecca. Rashid will fly out to Saudi Arabia this weekend with his wife, missing the three T20s and three ODIs against India next month. He is expected to return in time for England’s limited-overs series against South Africa, starting July 19. The 34-year-old spoke with white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, coach Matthew Mott and director of cricket Rob Key, who all backed his decision. ‘It’s something I have to do and something I’ve always wanted to do,’ Rashid told Sportsmail. ‘I spoke to England and Yorkshire and they were very supportive. They just told me to enjoy myself.’ Meanwhile, Mott believes his skipper Morgan’s quiet tour of the Netherlands will ‘light the fire’ ahead of a testing white-ball summer. England beat the Dutch 3-0, hitting a total of 985 runs at 8.47 an over, the fastest-scoring series by a team in ODI history. But Morgan, who was short of runs when he arrived in Amsterdam, made ducks in each of the first two matches, then sat out the third with a groin strain — inviting further speculation about his place ahead of the T20 World Cup in the autumn. ‘He’d love more runs, most batters would,’ said Mott. ‘He’s been a class player for more than 200 games and I don’t think that’s going to change. Having sat out the third game, I’m sure that will light the fire a little bit for him for a huge summer ahead.’ ROMAN WALKER is yet to play a first-class match for Leicestershire but he took five for 24 against India yesterday in a warm-up game ahead of next week’s rescheduled fifth Test. The Wales-born seamer, 21, has played for England Under 19s and his dismissals included Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. With four of India’s squad playing for Leicestershire, to give all of them match practice, the game has not been given first-class status.