LEEDS: Yorkshire chairman Kamlesh Patel said on Thursday that he had received “phenomenally racist” comments in response to Azeem Rafiq’s claims that he had been subjected to racist taunts and mistreatment while performing for the county.
Patel further said that if England hadn’t played in Leeds once more, the county would have filed for bankruptcy on the day that Test cricket returned to Yorkshire’s Headingley headquarters.
Rafiq, a former off-spinner who was born in Pakistan, initially accused Yorkshire officials of bigotry and abuse in September 2020 in connection with his two stays there.
Due to Yorkshire’s prior failure to take any disciplinary action, pressure mounted on them after Rafiq spoke before a parliamentary committee the year before.
This finally led to a thorough cleansing of the coaching staff and executive members of the board.
Unless adjustments were made, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) threatened to stop hosting lucrative international matches at Headingley.
