\n There were so many enriching stories from the event, where we spoke to great leg-spinner himself, his older brother, as well as a host of coaches and families enjoying the event.\n<\/p>\n
\n It brought some talented young cricketers from all over the country to Bradford, where a blend of cultures and playing styles meshed together to make it a four days to remember.\n<\/p>\n
\n But a comment under one of the stories read: \u201cAny chance of playing for Yorkshire any time soon Rash?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n It is not a completely unreasonable question, especially compared to some of the bile spouted about the Heaton native over the years, but it got me thinking.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sadly for counties, when central contracts for England players were brought in at the turn of the century, it spelled trouble.\n<\/p>\n
\n That has only increased over the years, with the national side really holding the cards with what they want their star players to do.\n<\/p>\n
\n Joe Root hardly plays for Yorkshire, Harry Brook is now going the same way, yet they don\u2019t seem to get anywhere near half the scrutiny that Rashid does.\n<\/p>\n
\n This is in no way blaming them, because sadly for White Rose, all three players are aces in the England pack, who all play international games throughout the year for their country.\n<\/p>\n
\n For anyone who says Rashid doesn\u2019t care about Yorkshire, that immediately looks daft when you consider the key role he played in them winning the County Championship in 2014 and 2015.\n<\/p>\n
\n And if he didn\u2019t care about Yorkshire, why would he and his brother Amar have invested so much time in coaching Jafer Chohan, the county\u2019s next great leg-spinning hope?\n<\/p>\n
\n Jafer Chohan has been one of the brightest spots over the last couple of years for Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast.(Image: Ray Spencer)\n<\/p>\n
\n Alex Wade is also a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of the Rashids, a teenage pace bowler who has already made his mark on England\u2019s youth teams and could be key for Yorkshire in the years to come.\n<\/p>\n
\n And the Adil Rashid Cricket Festival Jess and I attended was helping give kids, many of them underprivileged ones from the heart of his home city of Bradford, a rare opportunity to play high-class youth cricket<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n While Yorkshire will gladly welcome stars of the next generation from anywhere, imagine how good it would be to see a kid from inner-city Bradford make his mark on the game professionally, in a sport often derided as too expensive and too middle-class?\n<\/p>\n \n I completely understand that fans want Rashid to give back to Yorkshire by playing games for the county, but it would be unfair and selective to ignore the fact that he is doing that, just in different ways.\n<\/p>\n \n And ultimately, Rashid, like most other cricketers, will be lured in by franchise tournaments.\n<\/p>\n \n England appear to openly encourage their stars to take part, largely because the quality of player pool will be higher than in the English domestic game.\n<\/p>\n \n And let\u2019s be honest, the money Rashid can earn for playing in The Hundred, the Indian Premier League or the Big Bash is way too good to turn down.\n<\/p>\n \n \n It\u2019s natural to be motivated by money, and I would walk into another job tomorrow if I was being offered double the wages for example, I imagine most of you would do the same.\n<\/p>\n \n Part of the angst against Rashid stems from his decision to quit red-ball cricket several years ago, telling Yorkshire ahead of the 2018 season that he would no longer play that format with them.\n<\/p>\n \n The traditionalists were upset, and when I spoke to former Test bowler Derek Pringle for the T&A at a swanky charity event in December of that year, he called it an \u201cill-advised hissy fit\u201d from Rashid, citing his 2017\/18 Ashes snub as part of the reasoning<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n Such a big decision like that is unlikely to have been one taken off the back of a sulk, more likely being Rashid considering the direction he wanted his career to go in, and how he could prolong it.\n<\/p>\n \n Interestingly, in the same interview, Pringle bemoaned the crowded cricket calendar nowadays, saying that for England regulars like Root and Rashid, they won\u2019t play for their county if they get a rare moment off.\n<\/p>\n \n Rashid still has plenty of devotees, and I couldn\u2019t get near him to speak to him when he had his raucous homecoming parade in BD9 after helping England to win the World Cup in 2019.\n<\/p>\n \n A lot was made at that World Cup of the England team showing great respect to Rashid and Moeen Ali, both from a South Asian background and both practicing Muslims.\n<\/p>\n \n \n Rashid has always made it clear that his race and religion are something he is proud of, but he does not want it to define him, and he has had to navigate some tricky situations, very much being expected to take sides during the Azeem Rafiq scandal<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n He tried to stay relatively neutral, but ultimately corroborated Rafiq\u2019s claims over a comment from Michael Vaughan, though he did not take offence, merely taking the alleged words \u201cthere\u2019s too many of you lot (South Asian players)\u201d from the former England captain as bad humour.\n<\/p>\nAdil Rashid and Graham Clark celebrate a last-ball win for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred this summer.(Image: John Walton\/PA Wire)\n<\/p>\n
Moeen Ali, like Adil Rashid, spent years putting England’s opponents in a spin.(Image: Bradley Collyer\/PA Wire)\n<\/p>\n