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I used to be dwelling my household’s dream as knowledgeable cricketer, however inside I used to be dying, stated Azeem Rafiq.© AFP
Former England U-19 spinner Azeem Rafiq claimed that in his stint with county membership Yorkshire he considered killing himself attributable to alleged racism. “I understand how shut I used to be to committing suicide throughout my time at Yorkshire. I used to be dwelling my household’s dream as knowledgeable cricketer, however inside I used to be dying. I used to be dreading going to work. I used to be in ache day-after-day,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Rafiq as saying. The participant additionally alleged that he felt like an outsider within the aspect as there was no one from the same background.
“There were times I did things to try and fit in that, as a Muslim, I now look back on and regret. I’m not proud of it at all. But as soon as I stopped trying to fit in, I was an outsider. There were no coaches on the staff from a similar background who understood what it was like,” he added.
Former Yorkshire skipper Rafiq was very a lot shocked by the membership’s strategy in direction of his criticism. The participant’s allegations weren’t addressed by the membership authorities.
“Yorkshire doesn’t want to listen and they don’t want to change. And part of the reason for that is the people who were involved in the incidents I’m talking about are still at the club. They just want to sweep it under the carpet,” Rafiq stated.
“Look at the facts and figures. Look at a squad photograph. Look at the coaches. How many non-white faces do you see? Despite the ethnic diversity of the cities in Yorkshire, despite the love for the game from Asian communities, how many people from those backgrounds are making it into the first team?” he added.
The 29-year-old now pursues a profession away from the sport and hopes to “prevent anyone else feeling the same pain.”
“It”s obvious to anyone who cares that there’s a problem. Do I think there is institutional racism? It’s at its peak in my opinion. It”s worse than it”s ever been. My only motivation now is to prevent anyone else feeling the same pain,” he stated.
According to the ESPNcricinfo report, Yorkshire have to this point declined to make a public response to Rafiq”s claims.
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