Durham [UK], September 24 (ANI): England spinner Adil Rashid, who became the first spinner from the country to reach the milestone of 200 ODI wickets during the second ODI against Australia, said that retirement is currently not on his mind and he looks to pass on his wisdom and experience to youngsters by playing all the way to 2027 ODI World Cup.
Adil was speaking to ESPNCricinfo ahead of the third ODI against Australia in Chester-Le-Street, taking place on Tuesday. Australia is 2-0 ahead in the five-match series and had won the last ODI by 68 runs by bundling out England for 202 runs in a 271-run chase. England have lost 10 of their last 14 ODIs and another loss would condemn the hosts to a series defeat.
The squad being played in this series has been a transitional one, with captain Jos Buttler out due to injury and the leadership in the hands of a young Harry Brook. The new era, initially under interim coach Marcus Trescothick before Brendon McCullum takes over the white-ball coach role alongside his Test commitments, has been off to a shaky start.
With the tactics and players changing, Rashid still remains a key part of England’s white-ball cricket. The 36-year-old has signed a central contract with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that will keep him around till 2025-end and he aims to play the next year’s Champions Trophy, the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 50-over World Cup.
“I have not thought about it [retirement] yet. Keep playing, enjoy it, stay fit, bowl well, contribute to wins, hopefully World Cups and Champions Trophies–that is my ultimate aim,” said Rashid ahead of the game as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
“I am playing each game and each series as it comes, and if I am still enjoying it and performing well, I will keep carrying on. To play for this long and take the wickets I have, I had never, ever dreamt of that, so hopefully I can carry it on. It has been an enjoyable ride with ups and downs, and hopefully I can stay on the up for the remainder of my career.”
“I have got no eye yet on retiring or anything like that–that has not even crossed my mind. It is about enjoying the game and still giving it everything I have got,” he concluded his point.
The statement from Rashid is a vital one. Though Joe Root and Ben Stokes are expected to return to white-ball set-up ahead of CT 2025 and are currently busy with Test commitments, the team has lost a lot of experience recently. The absence of all-rounder and former vice-captain Moeen Ali is being felt a lot, after he announced his retirement from international cricket earlier this month following omission from Australia series squad.
As a long-time friend and partner-in-spin of Moeen, Rashid has been feeling the void left by Moeen’s retirement way more. It was feared that Rashid could follow Moeen into the sunset, but those fears have been allayed for a while. On Tuesday, Rashid will be playing his 138th ODI, the figure Moeen finished his international career on.
In Moeen’s absence, the responsibilities will be a lot more for Rashid as he will be the go-to wise-head for young spinners in the dressing room, most particularly teen sensation Rehan Ahmed. Rashid is more than happy to embrace this role, having worked with several spinners in county cricket, mainly Rehan and Jafer Chohan.
“He (Moeen) is a big miss for the team and a big miss for me because we are really good friends on and off the pitch. He has made that decision and got another chapter of his life with the remainder of his career, and I am sure he will do wonders,” said Rashid.
“With Mo not being there, my input will obviously be a little bit more, speaking to the youngsters and them coming to me.”
“That is the ultimate aim. Whatever I have got in terms of experience, form, ups and downs, the knowledge I have, I can pass that on. It could be in terms of mindset or technical things. I am trying to do that now as well, with the youngsters I am working with.”
“I have worked with Rehan Ahmed, I have worked with Jafer (Chohan) at Yorkshire. There is a few around the circuit, they are in competition, which is healthy, and they can compete to become that No. 1 spinner,” he concluded his point.
Rashid’s evolution into a world-class spinner was due to consistency in selection, having played 76 out of 81 ODIs under Eoin Morgan between 2015 to 2019 World Cups. During this time, England emerged as a world-class white-ball team and Rashid had a key role in that. As England looks to re-emerge as a major cricketing force after poor 50-over and T20 World Cup outings, in Rashid, they still have someone who knows, and still has, what it takes to push them on.
Australia Squad: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Mitchell Marsh(c), Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly
England Squad: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook(c), Jamie Smith(w), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Olly Stone, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood, Jofra Archer, Jordan Cox, John Turner. (ANI)
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