36-year-old star England National Cricket Team leg-spinner Adil Rashid has finally announced his plans to retire from international cricket.
Rashid is one of the most experienced members of the England white-ball set-up and is the first-choice spinner between T20Is and ODIs. However, the ECB’s reputation for favoring youngsters over seniors has led to speculation about Adil Rashid’s retirement.
Recently forced into retirement by James Anderson, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali also announced their retirement after being overlooked for the Australian series.
Meanwhile, Adil Rashid has made it clear that he has no plans to retire from international cricket anytime soon and aims to lead England to glory in the Champions Trophy and World Cups.
“I haven’t thought about it (retirement) yet,” said Rashid, speaking ahead of Tuesday’s third ODI at Chester-le-Street, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. “Keep playing, enjoy, stay fit, bat well, contribute to wins, hopefully World Cups and Champions Cups – that’s my main goal.
“I’m playing every game and every series as it comes and if I’m still enjoying it and doing well, I’ll continue.
“To play for so long and take the wickets that I have, I would never have dreamed of that, so I hope I can continue to do that. It’s been an enjoyable ride with ups and downs and hopefully I can stay at the top for the rest of my career.” for.
“I don’t have my eyes on retirement or anything like that yet – it’s not on my mind at all. It’s about enjoying the game and still giving it everything I’ve got.”
Notably, Adil Rashid recently completed 200 ODI wickets, becoming the first English spinner to achieve this feat and third fastest overall.
He is greatly missed by the team and he is missed by me because we are really good friends – Adil Rashid on Moeen Ali
Adil Rashid later said that he will miss meeting his good friend Moeen Ali in the dressing room and that in Ali’s absence, his opinions will be very important for the youngsters.
Adil Rashid: “He’s a big miss for the team and a big miss for me because we’re really good friends on and off the pitch.”
“He’s made that decision and he’s got another chapter in his life with the rest of his career and I’m sure he’s going to do wonders. When Mo’s not there, my mind will be a little bit more when I’m talking to the young guys and them. It’s coming to me,” he added. .
Rashid also aims to pass on the knowledge he has acquired over the years to young English spinners who can contribute to the team’s success in the future.
“That’s the main goal. Whatever I have in terms of experience, form, ups and downs, knowledge, I can pass it on. It can be mental or technical. I’m trying to do that with the young people I’m working with now.
“I’ve worked with Rehan Ahmed, I’ve worked with Jafer (Chohan) at Yorkshire. There are a few guys around the circuit who are competitive, which is healthy and they can compete to be the No.1 spinner.”
In total, Adil Rashid represented the England National Cricket Team in 19 Tests, 137 ODIs and 116 T20Is, scoring 60, 201 and 122 wickets.
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