Since Adil Rashid dismissed Virat Kohli in the final ODI to help England win the ODI series, speculations regarding his comeback to Test cricket starting getting voice. Discussions and debates followed and finally, Adil Rashid was given a Test recall for the Test series against India. Rashid was included in the England squad for the first three Test against India, a move which according to former England skipper Michael Vaughan is ridiculous.
"So we have picked someone who cannot be arsed with 4 day cricket for the Test Team ... Forget whether he is good enough or not I find this decision ridiculous ... !!!" tweeted Vaughan.
So we have picked someone who cannot be arsed with 4 day cricket for the Test Team ... Forget whether he is good enough or not I find this decision ridiculous ... !!!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 26, 2018
Since Rashid's Test call was after he announced that he is focusing more to succeed in white ball cricket, he has garnered attention and criticism from several other corners. Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur questioned the selection as well.
"We're very surprised that England have called Adil up after not playing red-ball cricket this season," Arthur was quoted as saying by the official website of Yorkshire.
"Neither has he expressed a desire to do so. I hope that England know what they're doing to Adil, and the county game," Arthur further stated.
Clarifying Rashid's Test call-up, national selector Ed Smith said, "Following his (Adil Rashid) earlier decision in February 2018, Adil has a white-ball only contract to play for Yorkshire this summer. That arrangement is unchanged by his selection for England...Clearly, the one-off circumstances around Adil's return to the Test squad are unusual. However, the selection panel was unanimous in believing that Adil should be selected in England's squad."
Smith also said Rashid would have to commit to the Championship game to be eligible for Test selection from 2019 onwards.
"However, Adil fully understands that if he wishes to be eligible for Test cricket in the 2019 season, he must have a county contract to play four-day cricket. Moving forward, England Test players must be committed to the county championship," Smith said.
England Test squad for the first Test against India
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes
(Inputs from NDTV)
