Azeem Rafiq, a 29 years old British-Pakistani and a former cricketer, has revealed that he has been a victim of deep rooted racism at Yorkshire and these incidents have led him to almost taking his own life.
After leaving Yorkshire, Rafiq left cricket after being the captain of England youth team. Finally now he has come forward with this statement against the country.
According to this statement that he gave to ESPNcricinfo, he said that due to him being a muslim he was always compelled to feel like an outsider there. Being a professional cricketer, he was living his family’s dream but despite that, all the racism related incidents were making him die from inside.
He said “I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire. As a Muslim, I feel regret when I recall those things. At my worst, I was right on the edge, stood on my balcony. I would regularly come home from training and cry all day. It was a very difficult time for me”
He added “We would be on nights out, I’d be speaking to someone and I’d have team-mates coming over and saying: ‘Don’t speak to him. He’s a p-word.
Yorkshire has launched official investigation to inquire the matter of allegations made by the player.
