Friday 27 July 2018 14:05, UK
Nasser Hussain says England's decision to recall Adil Rashid to the Test squad despite his white-ball-only deal at Yorkshire risks setting a dangerous precedent.
Leg-spinner Rashid was named in a 13-man party for next week's first Test against India at Edgbaston even though he opted out of playing County Championship cricket this season.
The decision, described by national selector Ed Smith as "unusual", prompted Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur to say: "I hope that England know what they're doing to Adil, and the county game."
Former England captain Hussain fears Rashid's recall could send out the wrong message to aspiring and current international players.
"If you say that selection is just about picking the best XI players available at this given time, then you'd say the selectors have got it right," said Hussain.
"Is Adil Rashid bowling well? Is he one of the two best spinners in the country at the moment? You'd probably say yes. So if you're an England fan you won't be too upset by this squad and if the selectors' job is just to pick the best available team, then I think they've done the right thing.
"But if you want to look at the bigger picture and look at the issues of county cricket and the issues of spin in general in county cricket, I wouldn't have gone down this road personally.
"I think it sends a bad message out that someone who is not willing and doesn't want to play red-ball cricket - who doesn't want to play for their county - can, just because he's bowled well in a few white-ball games, be given the keys to the city and be welcomed back into the Test match side.
"I think it's a dangerous precedent to set because what do you do with players in between Test matches in the future because if they don't want to go off and play red-ball cricket for their county, what do the ECB do? Do they force them to do that or can a player just say 'Adil Rashid doesn't play for his county, I'll put my feet up for four or five days'.
"It's a dangerous road to go down. I understand why the selectors have done it. But it just shows where we are with spin. We're going round in circles - from Rashid to Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Gareth Batty, Mason Crane, Jack Leach, Dom Bess, Liam Dawson and now we're back to Rashid."
England squad for first Test: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes
Watch the five-Test series between England and India live on Sky Sports Cricket, starting with the opener, at Edgbaston, at 10am on Wednesday.
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