England spinner Adil Rashid, on Sunday (October 31), insisted that he is fully fit to play all games in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, as he is no longer burdened by a chronic shoulder injury.
The leg-spinner needed two cortisone injections on his bowling arm to play throughout England's 2019 World Cup success at home. Adil was constantly troubled by the shoulder issue for months following the World Cup 2019, which ruled out his return to Test cricket last year.
Well, the painstaking rehabilitation and strength and conditioning work in the last couple of years helped him to overcome a persistent chronic shoulder problem and now he is ready to play a full part in England's bid to lift the T20 World Cup 2021 without nagging doubts over his shoulder.
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Rashid said, “In terms of fitness, body, I'm 100% fit. From the 2019 World Cup to now, there's a lot of rehab and strength and conditioning I've had to do but at this very moment, I'm fit and healthy. I'm still looking after myself in terms of going to the gym and making sure that I do the work, not just giving up.”
He added: “The benefit of that is being able to do bowl whatever I want, when I want, how I want, what pace, without anything in my mind of being in pain or any discomfort that something may go wrong.”
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old returned with the stunning figures of 4/2 against the West Indies in England’s opening game and then returned with brilliant figures of 1/19 before Jos Buttler's unbeaten 71 took the side to an 8-wicket win over Australia in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Rashid said of Buttler, “He's done that many a time over the years. It's the variety of shots he's got, the power he's got, the fearlessness, putting bowlers under pressure. All this combined makes him one of the best white-ball batsmen in the world.”
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England has won all three games so far in the T20 World Cup 2021 and is one of the strong favorites to win the trophy, but Rashid said they were not getting carried away before their next Super 12s encounter against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on Monday (November 1).
He signed off by saying, “We don't think about winning the World Cup that is still a long way away. Whatever's happened now has gone, that's in the past, so whatever lies ahead, and our minds are set on that. We're taking it a game at a time. Next, we've got Sri Lanka so we're definitely focused on that.”
(With AFP Inputs)
