Yorkshire CCC in the dark over Adil Rashid availability
YORKSHIRE are unsure when Adil Rashid will be available to play for them again, with the England leg-spinner having made 162 appearances for seven different teams since he last turned out for the club over three years ago.
Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire head coach, has addressed one of the biggest questions concerning the minds of members and supporters, who have been wondering why the double World Cup-winning leg-spinner has not been involved in the Vitality Blast, especially with no England white-ball matches taking place at the moment.
It was in June 2022 that Rashid last represented Yorkshire, since when he has made 94 appearances for England in one-day internationals/T20 internationals; 24 for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred; 20 for Pretoria Capitals in the SA20; eight for Team Abu Dhabi and eight for UP Nawabs in the Abu Dhabi T10; six for Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20, and two for Sunrisers in the Indian Premier League. He is contracted for more Superchargers’ duty in a few days’ time.
As Yorkshire seek to end the T20 on a high, having lost seven of 10 games to sit second-bottom of the North Group with four matches left, including two against leaders Lancashire, what they would give to have England’s most prolific spinner across the three formats weaving his magic.
However, when asked whether there was any chance of Rashid taking part, McGrath said: “Not that we’ve heard at the moment.
“Obviously, England normally inform us when players are available, so we’ve not heard anything as yet. As far as I know, he’s not available.”
Rashid, 37, has a one-year central contract and is thus England’s player rather than Yorkshire’s.
At the same time, he is not a Northern Superchargers player either, or one belonging to UP Nawabs, who have nevertheless benefited from his services despite the player managing a long-standing issue with his right shoulder.
Asked whether Rashid was likely to play again for Yorkshire, which must be a doubt given his age and that three-year hiatus, McGrath said: “Particularly the England contract guys, it’s normally them getting in touch (sic).
“Obviously, he’s not our player. Obviously, we’d love to have him, but until they let us know… There’s only four games left (T20) and then it’s Championship again (which Rashid last played in 2017).”
At the start of the Vitality Blast competition, Dawid Malan, the Yorkshire T20 captain, suggested that the ball was in Rashid’s court but there were factors to consider.
“I've spoken to Rash, and I've given him a couple of dates which I think will work,” Malan stated on June 6. “It all depends on his schedule. He's got a hell of a winter for England; he's got The Hundred.
“I think we've told him over the years that we'd love to have him, but he's not a young chicken anymore.
“He's got a few things that he needs to look after as well, and that's absolutely fine.
“He's an England contracted player, and first and foremost he's there to play for England. The phone's always on for him. If he decides he wants to play three or four games, that'd be fantastic for us.
“But, at the end of the day, we're not here to put pressure on him. If he feels like he's in the mind-space and his body's in the right place to play, then we'd welcome him with open arms.”
Malan added that any availability of Rashid would not come at the expense of Jafer Chohan, the young Yorkshire leg-spinner, who Rashid has helped to nurture behind the scenes.
“One of the things we did say to him was if he is available, it wouldn’t be at the expense of Jaf,” said Malan.
“We don't want him to be scared that he's going to come in and take a young leggie’s place.
"If they were able to play together, that would be fantastic.”