The stunned look on Virat Kohli’s face had expressed it all when a sharp turn beat his attempted flick and uprooted the off-stump. His dismissal when batting fluently on 71 became one of the talking points of that third and final India-England ODI at Headingley, back in July 2018.
As for the man who had unleashed the magic ball against the run of play, it not only was one of the factors behind England’s victory in that game but also earned him a Test recall.
Adil Rashid’s Test career didn’t quite take off in spite of the promises as he struggled with control. Also, a long-standing shoulder complaint made him focus entirely on the shorter versions after a disappointing tour of the West Indies in early 2019.
However, Rashid has certainly succeeded in establishing himself as an integral component of England’s white-ball cricket with important contributions in their 2019 World Cup triumph at home as well as their title win in the just-concluded T20 World Cup. The leg-spinner is now far more crafty and wily, playing a bigger role in Jos Buttler’s white-ball team.
Previously, Rashid used to rely a lot more on the googly. But since last year’s T20 Cup in the UAE, where he had finished as England’s highest wicket-taker (nine scalps from six matches at an impressive economy rate of 6.53), he has focused on taking pace off the ball.
Focusing on bowling slower in this World Cup has helped the 34-year-old a great deal, especially in the game against Sri Lanka in the Super 12 stage — a must-win one for England — as well as in the semi-final and the final. With four wickets from these three games, Rashid bowled as many as 29 dot balls and conceded only 58 off his 12 overs at an economy rate of 4.83.
From being a bowler with the ability to give his team crucial breakthroughs even if expensive, Rashid has evolved into a wrist-spinner with a lot more control, accuracy and discipline. His self-belief, though, remains his guiding force.
“In terms of bowling variation and skill, I try to implement that in the game and sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. And that’s T20 cricket. But it’s about making sure that you always have that self-belief,” Rashid had said ahead of the semi-final clash against India in Adelaide.
Morgan’s impact
It was during Eoin Morgan’s reign as captain that Rashid could gradually cement his place in the England limited-overs squads. “Looking from outside and speaking to him, Eoin Morgan has had a huge impact on Adil. The trust and the backing (from Morgan) allowed him to relax and bowl,” Rashid’s former Yorkshire teammate Azeem Rafiq, who’s also a whistleblower for racism in English cricket, told The Telegraph. “Adil is more mature and understood his action and method better. I think he’s only just starting to peak,” Rafiq, having tracked Rashid’s progress all these years, stated.
IPL contract
Rashid has said after the World Cup final that he will be putting his name in the IPL auction to be held on December 23 in Kochi.
Surprisingly, despite his success in the shortest format (275 wickets from 248 appearances), Rashid’s IPL experience is limited to just one game, which was for Punjab Kings in the 2021 edition.
Will the IPL franchises show more interest in him this time? It will be surprising if they don’t.