Adil Rashid is still at pain on how he timed his shoulder injury horribly wrong, just before last year's home World Cup after taking more ODI wickets than anyone else in the four years leading upto the flagship event. As a result, the wrist-spinner found rhythm a distant friend throughout the tournament, bagging only 11 scalps at 50 apiece.
England yet found a way to lift the coveted trophy at the end, but for Rashid, that wasn't the sort of campaign he precisely wanted and hence, the 32-year-old wants to be there in India in four years time, desperate to perform better in his second World Cup than he did in the first.
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"My aim is to play for England as long as possible," Cricbuzz quoted Rashid as saying. "We don't know how long that could be. Months, years, or whatever it is. I have a vision in terms of maybe achieving that, the 2023 World Cup. Another World Cup would be nice."
"That's a long way away and a lot can happen in three years in terms of performance, injuries, people coming in and out, but that's something that I would love to do again. If I stay fit, if my shoulder gets stronger then I can hopefully play for a long time."
"The World Cup is the biggest event in cricket. I had a couple of injections in my shoulder [before last year's tournament] and wasn't 100% fit, but my mindset was wanting to play and help the team," he added.
"Morgs (skipper Eoin Morgan) has been top drawer for me. He knew the shoulder wasn't great, but he kept backing me. I went in there with a strong mindset and did a decent job. That shows when I am 100 per cent, everything else will hopefully work out better."
The niggle in the shoulder that got aggravated at the World Cup seems to be "getting better", as seen through his performances on the tour of South Africa late last year. "South Africa was a big turning point for me," he stressed. "I've seen a big, big difference. In South Africa, the shoulder was stronger, a lot better. I was bowling as quickly as I've bowled in my career."
Rashid, with 143 scalps in 100 ODIs, will be threatening to go past the record 269 wickets taken for England by James Anderson in the format should he last as long as the next World Cup in 2023, which shall bring him the kind of praise he deserves.
"In the sense of credit, I don't really look for any credit or any praise from anybody so I'm not really fussed if people do praise me or don't praise or if I go under the radar and I don't get the credit I deserve," Rashid, however, said.
"As long as I know myself that I am giving 100 per cent and trying my best and as long as the captain, Morgs, knows as well...It doesn't really bother me if I get the praise or I go under the radar."
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
