Eoin Morgan deserves credit for England's rise to No. 1 - Adil Rashid

Adil Rashid has hailed Eoin Morgan as "a great leader" whose captaincy has been a key factor in England's limited-overs improvement and his own development.

Rashid, the second-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket since the last World Cup, rates Morgan as "100% the best captain" he has played under and "a massive help" in his own burgeoning confidence as a bowler.

"A huge amount of credit goes to him for how far we've come from the series against New Zealand in 2015 to where we are now, which is No. 1," Rashid said. "As a captain, a leader and a person, he really gives confidence to players.

"He is a great leader for this bunch of lads and he has made this environment a nice one to be in, you want to play for him and you want to enjoy it on and off the pitch."

A crucial characteristic of Morgan's is his calm under pressure. He shows little emotion on good days or bad and, as a result, helps his players retain their confidence even when things are not going their way.

"He knows you are going to have good days and bad days," Rashid said. "One big positive I've found is there are no big emotions from him if you're not bowling so well or things are not going great for the team. He doesn't really show it in his face which is a big positive for the players.

"For me he has been a massive help. He has given me the confidence to go out there and try to get wickets and if you get smashed, no problem because we've got five other bowlers to keep it tight. It is my job to create chances and he has been a big positive for me."

Rashid's words echo those of his spin partner Moeen Ali. Speaking a few days ago, Moeen also credited Morgan's equable temperament as a factor in England's progress and the progress of their spinners in particular.

"The biggest thing as a spinner is, you get hit for a four and his body language doesn't go, he doesn't make you think you're not bowling well," Moeen said. "That's massive for a spinner. I know Rash says the same thing. When you get hit for a couple of fours he's still the same. He's fine with everything and that's a big characteristic.

"Throughout my cricket career I've had that [captains who react emotionally and negatively]. From county cricket to international cricket, sometimes you do lose that and it knocks your confidence a bit as a spinner.

"When times are tough Eoin is always calm and slows thing down just to make things clearer. If you feel like you're struggling he never makes you feel like you are.

"I don't think he even knows he does it. It's great for us that we have a captain like that and it's one of the reasons we are number one in the world. He's right up there with the best captains I've played under."

While you would hardly expect anything but praise from a player for a captain, the words have the ring of truth. Certainly they contrast with Rashid's somewhat more lukewarm response to questions about his sometimes captain and now coach at Yorkshire, Andrew Gale.

"We're okay," Rashid said of their relationship "You have your ups and downs as a player and a coach, but we sat down and had a chat. You're always going to have times with a coach where you don't get along. We're normal in that sense. Hopefully we can kick on and get a good friendship. For now everything is okay."

Rashid insists he has no regrets about his decision to take a break from first-class cricket - he announced earlier this year he wanted to concentrate on white-ball cricket for a while - or his decision to make himself available in all formats for Yorkshire again next season. He has already cancelled the Big Bash deal he had agreed with Melbourne Stars so he can have some time with his family between Test tours.

But he does have a warning to first-class teams around the world that they should learn to accept the inevitability of more players choosing a future in T20 leagues.

"Coaches and teams need to accept that will be the reality," Rashid told Talksport. "That will happen. It's happening already in different parts of the world. It's about accepting it."

England took the day off on Thursday. The limited-overs squad were joined by the Test players in the late afternoon and they will train on Friday. The forecast for Saturday's T20I - scheduled to be played in the evening when the rain tends to arrive - is not encouraging.