Yorkshire and England star Adil Rashid has been awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
Adil Usman Rashid was born in Bradford on February 17, 1988 and has gone on to be one of the world’s best spin bowlers, winning trophies at domestic and international level.
He won back-to-back County Championship titles with Yorkshire in 2014 and 2015 and has made the county immensely proud by going on to win 50-over and T20 World Cups in 2019 and 2022.
He is a firm fixture in England’s limited overs teams and has taken 338 international wickets across all formats, earning 239 caps.
The leg-spinning all-rounder will be invited shortly to attend an investiture ceremony at either Buckingham Palace or one of the Royal households, where he will receive the MBE medal from The King or his representative from The Royal Family.
Reflecting on receiving the accolade Rashid, aged 35, said: “It is a very special moment. “I never would have thought that I would have met the King in my lifetime. To go down to meet the King, it will be exciting. It’s obviously nice to get recognised for things you do on and off the pitch, not just for myself but for my family and the people who have helped contribute.
“I’m humbled how well things have gone for me. The most important thing is to work hard, train hard, believe in yourself. You can achieve anything regardless of where you come from and whatever your background.”
Rashid made his debut for Yorkshire in 2006 at the age of 18, having previously worked his way up through the ranks having joined the Academy at 11-years-old. He took a debut six wickets in a County Championship win over Warwickshire at Scarborough.
He went on to score 10 hundreds and top 500 wickets in a first-class career which yielded Championship titles in 2014 and 2015.
He said: “Headingley will always be special for me. I have always been here. I have played my cricket here since the age of 11. I have come through the whole set-up, made my debut and have played here alongside Yorkshire legends. It holds a big place in my heart.”
Rashid helped play a big part in both World Cup wins - including a crucial role in helping England win the ICC T20 World Cup last November following a nail-biting five-wicket win over Pakistan at Melbourne.
He returned 2-22 from four overs, taking the key wicket of fellow superstar Babar Azam.
“Those two World Cups really come to mind in terms of career highlights,” he said.
“As an international cricketer or an international sports person full stop you really want to be winning World Cups – that's what you really want to achieve as a team."
“That’s something that myself and the team have been lucky enough to be part of. To win with England back-to-back – holding the 50-over and T20 titles at the same time, that’s something really special that has not been done before."
“The 50-over win in particular was history in the making. To be part of a team to win that for the first time, that’s something that will go down in history. But they are both as special as each other.”
Alongside his career in cricket, he runs the Adil Rashid Cricket Academy in Bradford with his brother to help inspire more children to get into the sport.
He is also an ambassador for the Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal (OPSA) charity, which provides free facial surgery for poor children and young adults in Pakistan.
Rashid said: “Bradford is very important to me. That's where I was brought up, that is where everything started. I also think it’s important for myself now that I pass on what I have in terms of knowledge to the next generation. So, as a result, that’s why I’ve opened the Adil Rashid Cricket Academy in Bradford to help the next generation of cricketers come through from Bradford."
“Hopefully they will aspire to become professional cricketers and, if not that, aim high in life. It’s always important to give back. I've always been the kind of person that tries to do stuff behind closed doors. But whenever I can help I want to. There are people out there who are less fortunate and it’s my duty alongside the community to come together and help each other at any given time.”
“To any aspiring young people out there, I would say, ‘Work hard, believe you can achieve anything, set your mind to it and listen to your parents’.”
Darren Gough, Managing Director of Cricket for YCCC, said: “This is an immensely well-deserved and proud moment for Adil Rashid and his family. He has had a fine career and has developed into a fine cricketer. He played for Yorkshire for many years before England called and he has become an international star."
“This is well deserved for what Adil has done on and off the pitch and the Yorkshire Family is very proud of him.”
Photo credit: SWPix.com