Adil Rashid is hoping to put the lessons learnt on his pilgrimage to Mecca to fire England towards T20 World Cup glory this winter.
The 34-year-old leggie was given special dispensation by the ECB and Yorkshire CCC to fulfil one of the five pillars of Islam during a busy summer of cricket. It meant he missed out on T20 Blast matches for his county as well as both white ball series against India earlier this month, while he travelled to Saudi Arabia for his spiritual fulfilment.
He has now returned to the fold with teammates asking plenty of questions about his Islamic tradition and how he coped with the searing heat that topped 40 degrees. He has found that a few things have changed too with a new captain in Jos Buttler as they start their build up towards his 4th T20 World Cup in Australia in October.
“Every time we play, whether it's batsmen, seamers or spinners we're playing as if it's our last game,” he said. “That's the mindset.
“The focus is the World Cup but before that there is still plenty of cricket to be played and we want to run into some good form by then. My team-mates have been asking about the Hajj, how it was and what the experience was like, so I’ve been giving them feedback on what it teaches you and why you do it.
“One of the main reasons was it’s one of the five pillars of Islam, something that we Muslims have to do once in a lifetime. But it teaches you quite a few things. It teaches you patience, because you can be out there in the midst of 45 degree heat, it teaches gratitude and self-discipline. Hopefully you can come back and use that in your daily life.”
Those skills might also seem perfectly suited to Test cricket too where long days in the heat, like England will experience in Pakistan this winter, will require plenty of patience. But Rashid was decidedly cool on the likelihood of him returning to the five day game with little or no first class experience since the wear and tear on his shoulder became a chronic issue.
“A lot has got to happen for me to play Test cricket,” he added. “In terms of form, how someone feels, injuries, how the body feels, the mindset.
“It’s not quite easy for me to say yes and no, but at the moment I’m not thinking about that. (Jack) Leachy’s doing a great job, and there are spinners coming through, they deserve it.”
Leg spinner Rehan Ahmed, 17, is one of the younger ones to keep an eye on and he’s been picking Rashid’s brains over the past week in the England camp.
“There’s a big future ahead for him, he’s got something about him,” said Rashid. “I’m just helping him with the mindset of cricket.
“He's got a lot of confidence and hopefully he can have a good career. You've got to have a strong mindset to cope with the dips in form that everyone has. It is part and parcel of sport."
