'For me, the door isn't closed' - Adil Rashid hopeful of returning to Test side

After being sidelined from the Test team for over three years, English leg-spinner Adil Rashid said that he has not shut the door on playing Test cricket. He also called the appointment of Brendon McCullum as the coach of England’s Test team and Ben Stokes as the captain, “exciting”. Rashid last played a Test match for England in 2019 in West Indies, although he has appeared frequently in shorter formats ever since.

Rashid mentioned that McCullum reached out to him with a text, asking how things were. He said that positive and attacking cricket drives him on, something McCullum and Stokes have in their game. The spinner also said that like everyone else, he still dreams to play Test cricket.

It’s always exciting when something new comes along: Adil Rashid

Rashid played his last Test match in January 2019 in Barbados, where he finished with unmemorable bowling figures of none for 117 in the team’s defeat. The 34-year-old leg-spinner made his Test debut in 2015 against Pakistan in an away series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He has played 19 Test matches ever since, picking up 60 wickets at an average of 39.83. He also has 540 runs with the bat at an average of 19.28, including two fifties.

Rashid’s England teammate Moeen Ali, who retired from Test cricket, also said that he was not completely closed to the idea of coming out of retirement if the new coaching team wants him on the team.

“It’s always exciting when something new comes along. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes both like to be positive and attacking. That drives me on and it’s very exciting,” said Rashid, as quoted by The New Indian Express. 

“He’s (Moeen) like a brother to me. It’s definitely a conversation we’d have, and that would inspire me. It (return to Test cricket) could happen. But for us to get to that point, a lot else has got to happen too,” said Rashid. “But things have changed. There are exciting times ahead. For me, the door isn’t closed,” he said.