Adil Rashid leaves England's tour of Caribbean to attend the birth of second child

Ahead of the second Test against Windies, beleaguered England have suffered yet another setback, losing their spin spearhead Adil Rashid. The leg-spinner has been allowed to fly home to attend the birth of his second child. Consequently, England left him out of their 12-man squad for the second Test in Antigua as the tourists eye to bounce back after the heavy defeat in the series opener.

The upcoming Test will be the first Rashid will be missing since being given a surprise recall to the Test team for the series against India at home last summer. The leg-spinner had decided to take a break from red-ball cricket for Yorkshire before an impressive show in ODIs against India compelled England to call him back. Since then, he played nine Tests in a row, helping England win the series against India and Sri Lanka.

Rashid’s performance in the first Test against Windies, however, was dismal. He bowled 26 overs but could not take a single wicket while conceding 117 runs. Later, skipper Joe Root had defended the spinner, saying, “It’s not necessarily a reflection on how Adil has gone about things. When he comes into the side you want him to make things happen and take wickets, to show off all of his tricks. On balance we think a slightly different approach might be more effective here.” Rashid, meanwhile, will also be unavailable for the third Test and will join the team for the subsequent ODI and T20I series.

England eye series-levelling win:

After the heavy 381-run defeat in the series-opener, Joe Root & Co. will be desperate to get back to winning ways. The tourists have not won in the Caribbean since 2004 and need to play out of their skins to get the better of the high-flying hosts. They have already dropped Keaton Jennings after his poor show with Joe Denly set to make his debut. Veteran pacer Stuart Broad is also more than likely to play after missing the series-opener.

England’s 12-man squad:

Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach

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