Top England leg-spinner Adil Rashid has chosen the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca over the white-ball series against India and the latter stages of Yorkshire’s T20 Blast campaign.
The 34-year-old tweaker, a practicing Muslim, decided earlier this year that he had reached the right time in his life to make the holy pilgrimage.
He has also been granted leave by the ECB and Yorkshire. He will fly to the Middle East soon and is expected to return in mid-July ahead of England’s white-ball series against South Africa.
“I’ve been pretty eager to do it for a little while but I’ve found it difficult with the timings. This year, I felt as though it was something that I had to do, and something I wanted to do as well,” Rashid said while speaking to a website.
“I spoke to the ECB and to Yorkshire about my plan and they were very understanding and encouraging. I’ll be there for a couple of weeks. It’s a massive moment for me. Each faith has got their own beliefs but for Islam and being a Muslim, this is one of the biggest ones. It’s a big thing for my faith and for me. I knew that I needed to do it while I’m still young, strong and healthy. This is something that I really committed to myself that I would do,” he said.
In absence of Rashid, Matt Parkinson may get a look in for the limited-overs series against India scheduled to be played from July 7-17.