England will hold talks with Adil Rashid about the possibility of returning to the Test arena for proposed tours of Sri Lanka and India once their ODI series against Australia is over, .
Leg-spinner Rashid, who has not played a Test since January 2019 on England’s tour of the Caribbean, claimed 3 for 21 off his four overs to send a huge scare through Australia before the visitors scraped to victory in their final T20I at Southampton on Tuesday.
Rashid’s performance led Moeen Ali, standing in as captain for the match in place of the injured Eoin Morgan, to declare, “when he’s bowling like that, I think he’s the best in the world”. It also continued a strong home summer for Rashid, who troubled Australia throughout their three-match T20I series, won 2-1 by England, and bowled well during the ODIs against Ireland.
Echoing comments by national selector Ed Smith last month which indicated Rashid is on the Test radar despite not holding a red-ball contract, Silverwood, England’s head coach, revealed on Wednesday that Rashid’s path back to the long format could come via a red-ball training camp now that the Bob Willis Trophy competition is drawing to a close.
With England hoping to tour Sri Lanka for two Tests – postponed earlier this year when the Covid-19 pandemic struck – and India in the coming winter, Rashid’s skill could prove to be in high demand for the tourists.Asked whether his stated desire to see Rashid play red-ball cricket before being selected in the Test side ruled him out of such a tour, Silverwood said: “Maybe not.””There’s a possibility of a red-ball camp with some competitive games on there, Only a possibility mind you, depending on what’s happening around the world.”
