Former off-spinner Azeem Rafiq accuses Yorkshire of "institutional racism"

The former England Under-19s captain, who is now 29 years of age and has since left professional cricket, said in an interview that during his time at the club he was made to feel like an outsider

Yorkshire have been accused of “institutional racism” by former off-spinner Azeem Rafiq, who has admitted that the discrimination he faced at the county left him “close to committing suicide”.

The former England Under-19s captain, who is now 29 years of age and has since left professional cricket, told ESPNcricinfo that during his time at the club he was made to feel like an outsider.

Yorkshire have confirmed in a statement issued to Press Association that they are in contact with Rafiq, stating that Hanif Malik, the club’s equality and diversity committee, was in touch with Rafiq about the allegations.

Rafiq first spoke to Wisden.com in August, before expanding on his experiences on the Cricket Badger Podcast, hosted by James Buttler.

In an interview published on Wednesday with ESPNcricinfo, he said: “I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire.

“I was living my family’s dream as a professional cricketer, but inside I was dying. I was dreading going to work. I was in pain every day.

“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. Do I think there is institutional racism? It’s at its peak in my opinion. It’s worse than it’s ever been.”

He added that he was speaking out because “it’s the right thing to do”, even if he believes that by doing so he might be “damaging my chances of working in the game again”.

For unrivalled coverage of the county season, subscribe to The Cricketer and receive 3 issues for £5