Adil Rashid on brink of a Test recall
Adil Rashid seems to be well on his way to complete a remarkable turnaround in his international career for England, having been kept out of the Test side for about two years now.
His returns in the limited-overs cricket have forced the English think-tank to consider his inclusion into the side out of red ball wilderness. Coach Trevor Bayliss recently hinted at the possibility of the leg-spinner's excellent form over the home summer earning him a recall into the whites for the upcoming series against India.
"This year is probably the best we've seen him bowl. He's bowled well in one-day cricket over the last few years but his control and his consistency this year has been top class and probably the best I've seen him bowl since I've been here," Bayliss spoke.
If Rashid makes it to the Test side, it will indeed be a surprising pick given that he only recently refrained from signing the first-class contract with his county Yorkshire, choosing to concentrate solely on Twenty20 and one-day cricket.
But it is believed that if he can flummox the best ODI batsman in the world when he's batting at his most fluent, he can certainly strengthen the spin bowling of the side, a problem yet to be resolved for the Englishmen ever since Graeme Swann retired in 2013.
Rashid also seemed optimistic about his chances as he told Sky Sports, "I made the decision earlier this year to focus on playing white-ball cricket to see how it felt but always knew that if I found I was missing red-ball cricket then I would go back to it. So if the selectors come and show faith in me then I would consider it, whatever role they want me to do."
England have already once taken the gamble of picking a player purely on white-ball form this summer and it seems to have paid off, Buttler's IPL exploits earned him a Test recall and he has acknowledged it in true style playing a counter-attacking knock in England's win over Pakistan at Headingley.
So, if all goes according to the Bayliss plan, Virat Kohli might face an entirely unforeseen challenge once the Test matches begin.
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