England leg-spinner Adil Rashid is set to miss the upcoming white-ball series against India at home for Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The 34-year-old will also miss the last few games for Yorkshire in the ongoing Vitality T20 Blast.
A part of England’s recent ODI clean sweep over the Netherlands, Rashid been given a green signal by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Yorkshire CC. Rashid said he has been wanting to make the pilgrimage for a long time and confirmed that he will travel to the Middle East on June 25.
“I’ve been wanting to do it for a little while but I’ve found it pretty difficult with the timings. I spoke to the ECB and Yorkshire about it and they were very understanding and encouraging,”
he told ESPNcricinfo.
The player was all praise for the culture in English dressing room as a diverse team, having players from different countries and faiths. He credited captain Eoin Morgan and the management for creating an environment where everyone respects each other.
“Everyone in the dressing room respects our faith massively, and they’ve got a good understanding of it now with myself and Moeen [Ali] around. It’s a very diverse team – but everyone gets along and respects each other massively. That’s a big credit to Morgs [Eoin Morgan] for making that environment, and to the hierarchy,”
England are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is against India from July 7 to 17. Rashid will miss the entirety of the series as he will return home in mid-July. He is one of England’s key players in the white-ball set-up and his absence will be felt dearly as the world champions are already without the services of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes due to injuries.
England are likely to field a similar bowling attack to what they had on the recently concluded Netherlands tour. ECB will announce Rashid’s replacement along with the full squad in coming days.
