Young spinners in England will always make headlines if they take wickets - when it's a young legspinner the hype is magnified. Adil Rashid, a product of the spin programme Terry Jenner put in place, burst onto the scene with six wickets against Warwickshire during his first-class debut in 2006 and he finished the summer with 25 wickets in six Championship appearances. His performances for England Under-19s also caught the eye with a century and an eight-wicket haul during the second Test against India. He suffered a stress fracture in his back in the close season which forced him to remodel his action, which is now more side-on. His profile rose exponentially in 2007 when he struck his maiden Championship century against Worcestershire in August and at the end of the season he was awarded the prestigious title of Cricket Writers' Club 2007 Young Cricketer of the Year. In 2008 he enjoyed his most prolific season with 62 wickets in the County Championship and was a late addition to the squad for the Test series in India. That trip was purely for experience, however, as was the tour to West Indies which followed.

The experience obviously had a positive effect on Rashid, who scored 545 runs at 68.12, including two hundreds, and picked up 31 wickets at 36.06 in the 2009 first-class season. His statistics in one-day and Twenty20 cricket were more modest, but the selectors held faith in his potential, and Rashid made his England debut during the World Twenty in June of that year. He also played in the post-Ashes one-day series against Australia, but his most notable achievement came with the bat when he scored a quick-fire 31 in the narrow defeat at The Oval.

Rashid was included in the party to tour South Africa in 2009-10, but had a difficult time on the trip. He began amid high hopes that his combination of legspin and promising lower-order batting could cement a permanent role in the side, but his solitary over in the second Twenty20 went for 25, then he bowled three overs for 27 in the second ODI before being left out for a fit-again Graeme Swann. When he was released from the one-day party, James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, remained on stand-by which suggested Rashid had fallen down the pecking order. His omission from the Bangladesh touring party in January 2010 confirmed that impression. Rashid remains in the reckoning for an England spot, however, and was included in the England Lions squad to tour UAE in February and was called-up briefly for the end of the World Cup campaign.
ESPNcricinfo staff April 2011