Rashid's selection in England test squad ridiculous: Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Thursday termed the selection of English spinner Adil Rashid for the upcoming five-match Test series against India as 'ridiculous.'

Rashid's comeback in the larger format of the game raised many eyebrows as the bowler had, reportedly, stated that he would be concentrating only on ODI format.

Moreover, the player has signed a white-ball-only contract with Yorkshire county cricket club.

Vaughan took to Twitter and wrote that irrespective of whether the player is good enough or not, the decision is ridiculous.

"So we have picked someone who cannot be arsed with 4-day cricket for the Test Team ... Forget whether he is good enough or not I find this decision ridiculous ... !!!," he tweeted.

England national selector Ed Smith, however, defended the move and said that Rashid had confirmed his availability before the selection committee and that keeping in view his ODI form, a unanimous decision was made by the panel.

"Before the selection meeting, Adil had confirmed his availability to play Test cricket for England for the whole of this summer and the upcoming winter tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Smith, as saying.

"Clearly, the one-off circumstances around Adil's return to the Test squad are unusual. However, the selection panel was unanimous in believing that Adil should be selected in England's squad," he added.

Rashid has taken 38 wickets in 10 Tests for England with at an average of 42.78. His last Test was against India in December 2016.

On a related note, India and England are slated to play their first test match from August 1.