Gillespie anticipates axed Rashid will rise to challenge

Rashid has been axed after taking nine wickets in six games at 49 and managing 92 runs at 18.

His place is set to be taken by Azeem Rafiq, the 21-year-old off-spinning all-rounder, while Jonny Bairstow will also play after being given permission by the England management to take part.

Rashid’s omission is not a surprise, for, as his statistics suggest, he has struggled this year with bat and ball. The 24-year-old did not have the best of times last year either, managing 39 wickets at 43 and 556 runs at 24.

But rather than stick with the player through thick and thin, a tactic that backfired last summer when he was ever-present in the Championship side, Yorkshire have opted to give him a break.

Rashid will spend time with the second team in an effort to recapture the form that earned him five one-day international caps and five Twenty20 international caps in 2009.

“It hasn’t quite clicked for Adil this year but these things happen in cricket and I’m hoping he can now get back to his very best form,” said Gillespie.

“The bottom line is that Adil is a very good bowler but he acknowledges, and I think everyone acknowledges, that he has not been bowling as well as he can of late.

“He’s the first to admit that he probably hasn’t performed to the standard he’d like to perform at, and the fact is we’ve got lots of guys pushing for spots in our squad. At his best Adil is fantastic, a match winner, and I’ve been extremely impressed with his work ethic and commitment.”

Despite Gillespie’s soothing words, Rashid’s exclusion will be a blow to the player, who was hoping to reignite his international ambitions this summer. By all accounts he performed splendidly on Yorkshire’s pre-season tour to Barbados but has been unable to transfer that form into the campaign proper.

The early-season pitches and weather have not helped him, but Yorkshire are alive to the attributes of Rafiq, who has played the last three CB40 games ahead of Rashid.

If Rafiq plays, it will be his seventh Championship appearance for Yorkshire and his first for the county since July 2010; he played three Championship games on loan at Derbyshire last summer.

Rashid verdict: Page 22.