Special delivery as Rashid is praised by Gillespie

Rashid is replaced in the 12-man squad by off-spinner Azeem Rafiq as Yorkshire embark on the second half of their Championship programme.

While Rashid takes a short break from action, having been ever-present in the Championship side to date, Jason Gillespie has chosen this moment to throw his public support behind the player.

The Yorkshire first-team coach believes the leg-spinner is bowling better than at any time since Gillespie himself rejoined the club in his current role in late 2011.

The former Australia fast bowler, who played in Rashid’s first-class debut for Yorkshire against Warwickshire at Scarborough in 2006, when the then 18-year-old announced himself with second innings figures of 6-67, feels Rashid will have an increasingly important role to play as the season develops.

As second-placed Yorkshire go in search of their fourth Championship win of the season, looking to bridge a gap of five points to leaders Somerset, Gillespie told The Yorkshire Post: “I’ve been really impressed with Adil this year and I think he’s bowling the best he’s bowled since I came back to the club.

“It’s my third year as coach, and I’ve not seen him perform better than he’s doing at the moment.

“He hasn’t always had the rewards for it – mainly because of how the games have been going, and the fact that he hasn’t had the opportunity to bowl very much behind the pace bowlers.

“He hasn’t really had the overs under his belt so far, but I’m sure that he’ll have more of an impact as the season goes on.”

Rashid, 26, has bowled just 136.4 overs in eight Championship games – the fewest number of Yorkshire’s frontline attack.

Paceman Jack Brooks, in contrast, has bowled almost twice as many overs (259.1), with Rashid having to wait his turn behind a strong seam line-up.

Rashid has picked up 12 wickets at an average of 38.66, with his overall first-class record now standing at 340 wickets at 35.72.

He has also contributed 302 runs in this year’s Championship at 33.35, with a top score of 108 against Somerset at Taunton.

“Adil has scored runs batting at No 6 or No 7 on surfaces that have generally favoured the bowlers,” said Gillespie.

“He has come out and been aggressive and played some good knocks.

“It hasn’t always gone his way, but he’s in a really good place with his cricket at the moment.

“I actually thought, when Middlesex beat us down at Lord’s earlier in the season, that he was the man most likely to get Chris Rogers out when he made a brilliant double hundred, so there have been plenty of positive signs.”

Rashid does not appear to be on England’s radar at present, but there remains time for him to add to his tally of five one-day international and five Twenty20 international appearances, all of them in 2009.

English cricket is bereft of spinners, but Yorkshire have two of the best of the young brigade in Rashid and Rafiq.

Although Gillespie admitted he had no idea how far Rashid is from an international recall, the Yorkshire coach insisted he would “not let anyone down” if he got another go.

Moeen Ali, the Worcestershire all-rounder, is performing the spin bowling role in the Test team at present, after Durham all-rounder Scott Borthwick played in the previous Test against Australia in Sydney.

But Gillespie believes Rashid loses little – if anything – by way of comparison.

“England have picked Moeen Ali for the Test matches to bat and just roll a few out,” he said.

“That’s the way they’ve decided to go at the moment.

“But I said over the winter period that Borthwick or Rashid would be good options, although I think that Rashid, a little bit like Liam Plunkett, is best suited to a five-man attack as he is an attacking bowler who can sometimes go the distance.

“But it’s interesting that the two leg-spinners in England, Rashid and Borthwick, play in the two northern-most counties, so they don’t get probably as much bowling as they possibly need to fine-tune their craft.”

Rashid has struggled to get into much of a bowling rhythm so far, and there is a temptation to view statistics as the be-all and end-all.

However, Gillespie is pleased with the way Rashid has approached his work and the manner in which he is trying to take wickets.

“A lot of people might just look at the stats,” he said.

“But if you actually watch Adil closely, and how he’s bowling and getting his wickets, then for me that’s the most pleasing thing.

“He is giving the ball some air and he is spinning it hard.

“Those sort of lads, who can spin the ball hard and get appreciable turn, do come into their own as the season goes on, and, hopefully, that will be the case for Adil.”