As England embark on their tour of UAE to fight it out against Pakistan, Adil Rashid will play a very crucial role for England. The leg-spinner has found tremendous success in the English domestic circuit and improved performances for the national side in limited overs earned him a test call up. As Pakistan has traditionally struggled against the leg spinners, Rashid has a perfect opportunity to make a mark on pitches that will assist him.
Former Australian spin wizard Shane Warne is excited to see Adil Rashid in tests against Pakistan. “To see Rashid back in the side, I think England have done it pretty well,” said Warne. “They haven’t rushed him in. I would have liked to have seen him play in the West Indies before the Ashes, I think there was an opportunity there. But they’ve got him through the one-dayers, he’s been around the group for a while and he seems to be bowling pretty well,” Warne said.
“It’s great, I’m very excited for that. Yasir Shah’s a wonderful legspinner too, I think he’s probably the best going around at the moment. When you’ve got Yasir Shah and Rashid, two good legspinners playing, it’s going to make for better cricket,” said the Australian legend.
Warne also mentioned that Alastair Cook as the skipper would have to manage Rashid very efficiently. “As a captain, Alastair Cook, it will be great to see how he handles a legspinner in Test matches,” said Warne. “It’s always fun as a captain to have a legspinner in your side. I think it’s exciting for England to have that.
“I help a lot of spinners from all over the world, I’ve helped Danish Kaneria from Pakistan – in a series against England, actually – there’s been lots of legspinners, or general spinners, that I’ve helped over the years and I’m more than happy to talk to anyone. “I’d love to work with Adil Rashid if the opportunity arises. I had a chat in my last year of county cricket with Michael Vaughan at Yorkshire and he said ‘Can you do us a favour and have a chat with Rashid?’
“He was pretty young then, but I had a good chat with him. He’s a pretty impressive kid, he’s been on the scene for a while now and let’s hope he grabs his opportunity because it would be great to see England having a legspinner,” said Warne.