I’m getting better mentally and with my skills: Adil Rashid
Apr 6, 2019 at 2:17 PM
English leg-spinner Adil Rashid believes that his game is improving with every passing day and is happy with the progress he has made since resuming his international career.
Speaking before Sunday’s (June 26) third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Bristol, Rashid said that the last one year has been good for him and he is learning how to handle the pressure in the international arena.
“I’ve just got to look to keep improving day by day and game by game. I feel I’m getting better mentally and with my skills. But you can always have a bad day, a bad game or a bad series. So you have to be strong mentally,” Rashid said.
“It’s been a good 12 months for me, especially in the white-ball stuff. Every series that has gone by I’ve looked to improve. I’ve got experience as well and got more confident. I’ve looked to adapt to different conditions and teams, too. I’ve looked to study individual players, studying the strengths and weaknesses of individual players I’ve got a lot better that way.”
Rashid also said that he took some tips from the greatest exponent of leg-spin- Shane Warne. Rashid and Warne briefly worked together during England’s series against Pakistan in the UAE last year. The legendary leg-spinner was in Dubai on a promotional trip and attended net sessions in Sharjah.
“We had a general talk about leg spin. He [Warne] gave me tips and stuff. It was good to see him and good for him to give me a few tips. It was about the basics. Keeping it simple, bowling the same ball, ball after ball after ball and letting natural variation take over from the hand and the pitch. It was about a positive mindset and keeping it simple, not really a technical thing.”
Rashid has featured in all of England’s last 22 one-day internationals – stretching back to his return against Ireland last May. Former Australian player Jason Gillespie had been vocal about Rashid’s chances and said that the leg-spinner has the potential to represent England in Tests too. However, Rashid feels that there is still a long way to go and for currently he is only focused on the ODI games.
“It can be good (having someone like that rate you),” said Rashid. “But you can get a lot of people rating you. It is up to the individual to not let that get to his head and keep concentrating on what is in front of him. Jason is a high-quality coach, who has played for Australia – so he has got a lot of experience. The way he talks to me helps, so it is good to have him there as well.”
“They are quite strong, but I think that is quite a long way away. At the moment I am just trying to concentrate on the ODIs and the Twenty20s that are in front of me – and hope that (Test recall) will take care of itself further down the line. I don’t think of replacing Mo or anything like that,” Rashid said.