Spinner Rashid plays down talk of return for Ashes
Adil Rashid is happy to embrace the new challenge of opening the bowling in England’s Twenty20 side, but seems more unlikely than ever to return to the Test arena after admitting the idea “hasn’t even crossed my mind”.
The Yorkshire legspinner played the last of his 19 Tests in January 2019, initially stepping away to protect a shoulder injury, and appears increasingly content with the life of limitedovers specialist.
An in-form Rashid would be a major boost to Joe Root’s red-ball spin attack, but for now he is exclusively available to white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan.
Morgan pulled a surprising move by asking Rashid to kick off with the new ball in Friday’s first T20, a role he settled into with aplomb with two tidy overs and the wicket of India skipper Virat Kohli.
So would Rashid consider a Test comeback in time for this winter’s Ashes?
“It hasn’t even crossed my mind – Test cricket or the Ashes,” Rashid said.
“I think we have to see what happens closer to the time.
“The shoulder injury, has got better but it’s something I’ve got to look after.
“I don’t know if I can bowl those long spells of 15, 20, 30 overs in a day. At the moment I’m enjoying my white-ball cricket.”
Rashid does not yet know if he will be continuing to lead off the innings as the T20 series progresses, having only been given a couple of days’ notice. If it does become a regular requirement, he stands ready to do his part.
“Bowling with the new ball is something new for me and hopefully it’s something I can do again depending on (the) game situation,” he said.