Adil Rashid has explained that he signed a contract to only play white-ball cricket for Yorkshire this summer as his heart is no longer committed to the red-ball game.
Rashid, 30, will only play limited overs county cricket in the coming season while England team-mate Alex Hales has signed a two-year white-ball deal with Nottinghamshire.
“It was how I felt in my heart. My mind wasn’t really at ease playing red-ball cricket for Yorkshire last year, sometimes going through the motions,” Rashid said.
“I was keeping it inside me. I had to make a decision that I couldn’t go through another season feeling like this and letting the team and myself down.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, I had to have a long think about it. I spoke to Martin Moxon [Yorkshire’s director of cricket] and he was happy with the decision.”
Rashid hopes his decision will help to improve his limited-overs game as he prepares for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand starting in Hamilton on Sunday.
But the leg-spinner has not ruled out a future return to the red-ball game with either Yorkshire or England.
He added: “It's not a permanent thing. It’s for this season, to see how it goes, how it unfolds and what happens.
“If my heart changes I could be going back to red-ball cricket next season. A lot can change.
“At this moment in time I'm very content with what I'm doing.”
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