Adil Rashid chooses Hajj pilgrimage:
The star leg-spinner of England Adil Rashid will miss the upcoming white-ball series versus India and the later stages of T20 Blast cricket league as he is planning to go to holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
Earlier this year Rashid, a practicing Muslim decided to the holy place with his wife and the ECB and Yorkshire has granted the leave. The 34-year-old will fly to middle-east on Saturday and is expected to be back in the squad for the English side’s white-ball series against South Africa.
“I’ve been wanting to do it for a little while, but I’ve found it pretty difficult with the timings,” Rashid told the ESPNcricinfo website. “This year, I felt as though it was something that I had to do, and something I wanted to do as well.
“I spoke to the ECB and to Yorkshire about it and they were very understanding and encouraging, like: ‘Yep, you do what you’ve got to do and then come back when you can’.
He added: “Me and the missus are going and I’ll be there for a couple of weeks. It’s a massive moment: each faith has got their own different thing but for Islam and being a Muslim, this is one of the biggest ones.
“It’s a big thing for my faith and for myself. I knew that I needed to do it while I’m young and strong and healthy. This is something that I really committed to myself that I would do.”
Rashid on how his teammates treating him and fellow members of other religion:
Adil Rashid said that the team England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan and the hierarchy created a very supportive environment for him and his Muslim fellows Saqib Mahmood and Moeen Ali.
Everyone in the dressing room respects our faith massively. And they’ve got a good understanding of it now with myself and Moeen around,” said Rashid.
In his absence, England might try Matt Parkinson for the T20 and ODI series against India.
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