Should Adil Rashid play at Cardiff?

The leg spinners union is out in full force at present. Shane Warne has tipped Adil Rashid to partner Graeme Swann in the first Ashes Test in Cardiff instead of Monty Panesar, should England go with two spinners as expected. After Rashid's impressive showing in the World Twenty20, many others are also clamouring for the young Yorkshire leggie's Test debut to be sooner rather than later.

Admittedly, unleashing Rashid on the Australian's spin frailties is a much more appealing prospect than Panesar churning out 34 identical and non-threatening overs. The boy has unique potential, this much is obvious. However, after Warne's authoritative calls, there are several things that strike me:

1) Are we rushing him? England have done incredibly well in allowing Rashid to develop with his county and to learn every aspect of his game before rushing him into the harsh and unforgiving grounds of international cricket. Stuart Broad was given time to grow before he played for England and the results have been largely positive. However, is this just a little too soon for Rashid? He was in the England squad for both winter tours this year so the experience gained there will have been crucial. But one gets the feeling that a chastening experience at the hands of Australia could scar him for life.

2) Is Warne just playing mind games? He doesn't even play anymore and you still feel he has a psychological edge over every English player and selector. Warne last week spoke of how he didn't rate Ravi Bopara and thought England were making a mistake in putting their faith in him. The great man was surely trying to knock Bopara over, confidence-wise. The trouble is his name is so well respected in the game, especially in the precocious art of spin bowling. So if he says England should play Rashid, the selectors are likely to take heed of his words. Could he be tricking England into playing Rashid even though he knows he's not ready? You wouldn't put it past him, even if he is working for Sky as a 'neutral' commentator.

3) Is the Ashes the right place to make a Test debut? Rashid is 21 and could have a monstrously good career ahead of him. But what would happen if he plays at Cardiff and gets absolutely collared all day long? He gets dropped, his confidence goes - in short, he becomes the new Chris Schofield. It's not a slight on his talent; good players can have bad days and Rashid could very well just turn up at the wrong time and get belted all around the park. But the effects of such a mauling would be devastating and the pressure-cooker atmosphere of an Ashes Test could possibly be too much for such a young player. Having said that, Kevin Pietersen made his debut in an Ashes series and look what happened there. And Warne was a similar age when he made his debut.

One thing's for certain: Panesar, if selected, has done nothing to justify his place. I'm not necessarily a Monty critic but his early season form for Northants has been awful and he's done precious little in an England shirt for a long time now. Rashid represents England's future more than Panesar. But does that justify playing him now?

After all, this Ashes series is about the present, not the future. It's a tough one to call and my instinct is to go with Rashid. But, thankfully, I'm not a selector.