BIRMINGHAM: The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that off-spinner Moeen Ali had been left out from a 13-man squad.
That leaves Yorkshire leg-spinner Rashid as England’s sole designated slow bowler, although his county colleague Joe Root, the England captain, can supplement his top-order batting with occasional off-spin.
England have also omitted uncapped Essex seamer Jamie Porter.
Top-order batsman Dawid Malan remains in the XI, with all-rounder Ben Stokes and Surrey left-arm quick Sam Curran providing seam bowling support to the veteran new-ball pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the first of a five-Test series starting Wednesday.
Rashid’s recall for his 11th Test but first in England provoked a furious response given he signed a limited-overs only contract with Yorkshire for this season.
Yorkshire and England greats Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan are among those who’ve slammed the decision to call-up Rashid without him having first played any red-ball County Championship cricket this term.
Former opening batsman Boycott was scathing in his column for Britain’s Daily Telegraph published Tuesday, accusing Rashid of being a “spoilt brat.”
“He should never have been handed a Test recall,” insisted Boycott.
“In two years England have gone around in a circle. By picking Rashid, they are selecting the unselectable: a player who will not play four-day Championship cricket for Yorkshire because his heart is not in it, but he will play for England in Test matches. Absurd? Yes.”
Vaughan had previously labelled Rashid’s selection “ridiculous,” with Rashid responding angrily by saying his former team-mate’s remarks were “stupid,” while suggesting Yorkshire’s less than enthusiastic reaction had been “disrespectful.”
Boycott said Rashid had responded to Vaughan’s comments like a “spoilt brat.”
“Trashing a great England captain and superb batsman does not go down well with the cricketing public,” insisted Boycott, who went into a self-imposed exile from international cricket for three years at the height of his career in the mid 1970s.
“Let me tell Adil that Vaughan will be remembered as one of the greatest England captains and an elegant, superb batsman. In 10 years nobody will remember Adil’s Test match performances.”
Meanwhile England confirmed Jos Buttler as Root’s vice-captain for the Test series.
Buttler was only recalled to the Test set-up by new national selector Ed Smith for the two-match series against Pakistan earlier this season.
But having deputised for England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan in limited-overs internationals, he has now been given a formal leadership position in the Test set-up as well.
Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, had been assisting Root since the start of the last Ashes after Stokes was stood down from the vice-captaincy position following an alleged late-night incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September.
More pressure on lone spinner Rashid after Boycott blast
More pressure on lone spinner Rashid after Boycott blast
Djokovic’s new approach heading into the Australian Open: ‘24 is not a bad number’
- Djokovic is starting a third season in pursuit a 25th Grand Slam singles title
- Djokovic last won a major title at the 2023 US Open
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic can still crack a joke when discussing the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry that for two years has prevented him from becoming the most decorated tennis player ever.
“I lost three out of four Slams against either Sinner or Alcaraz,” in 2025, he said Saturday, on the eve of the Australian Open.
“We don’t need to praise them too much,” he added, smiling. “They have been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces of the men’s tennis at the moment.”
Djokovic is starting a third season in pursuit a 25th Grand Slam singles title, and has refined his approach for the Australian Open.
He withdrew from his only scheduled tuneup tournament, knowing he’s lacking “a little bit of juice in my legs” to compete with two young stars at end of the majors and that he has to stay as pain-free as possible.
Djokovic worked out how to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the established rivalry before he turned it into the Big Three and then surpassed them both.
A winner of 24 major championships — a record for the Open era and tied with Margaret Court for the most in the history of tennis — the 38-year-old Djokovic is doing everything to keep himself “in the mix.”
Djokovic last won a major title at the 2023 US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have split the eight since then. Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia determined to add the title at Melbourne Park to complete a career Grand Slam.
Despite being hampered by injuries, Djokovic reached the semifinals at all four majors last year. A torn hamstring forced him to quit his Australian Open semifinal, after he’d ousted Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
By reminding himself that “24 is also not a bad number,” Djokovic said he’s taking the “now-or-never type of mentality” out of his every appearance at a major because it’s not allowing him to excel at his best.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now from everybody else. That’s a fact,” Djokovic said, “but that doesn’t mean that nobody else has a chance.
“So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here.”
The 10-time Australian Open champion starts Monday in a night match on Rod Laver Arena against No. 71-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain. Seeded fourth, he’s in the same half of the draw as Sinner. That means they can only meet in the semifinals here.
Fitness
Djokovic hasn’t played an official tournament since November.
“Obviously took more time to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last couple of years, that’s what changed the most for me — takes more time to rebuild, and it also takes more time to reset or recover,” he said. “I had a little setback that prevented me to compete at Adelaide tournament ... but it’s been going on very well so far here.”
He said there’s “something here and there” every day in terms of aches and pains, “but generally I feel good and look forward to competing.”
PTPA
Djokovic cut ties earlier this month with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded, saying “my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization.”
Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil launched the PTPA in 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was ... overused,” he said. “I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organization, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning.”
He said he’s still supporting the concept.
“I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for a 100 percent players-only representation organization existing in our ecosystem,” he said.
