The English county club Yorkshire, which currently finds itself mired in racism controversy, took yet another ugly turn. In the latest development, England spinner Adil Rashid confirmed that he heard former Test captain Michael Vaughan question a number of players having an Asian heritage, recalling incidents from 2009.
The spinner, who was part of England's T20 squad in UAE, also pledged his support to take part in the official investigation in future, terming racism as ‘cancer’ that needs to be eradicated.
"Racism is cancer in all walks of life and unfortunately in professional sports too, and is something which of course has to be stamped out. I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq's recollection of Michael Vaughan's comments to a group of us Asian players," the spinner was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
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"I'm encouraged by the fact that a Parliamentary Committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that's holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level. These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right. For now, though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further. I ask you to respect my privacy and allow me to focus on my cricket," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I'm encouraged by the fact that a Parliamentary Committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that's holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level. These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right. For now, though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further. I ask you to respect my privacy and allow me to focus on my cricket," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Azeem Rafiq, who played under Vaughan at Yorkshire, had earlier alleged that the ex-England captain passed a racist remark directed towards him and his other teammates. Rafid claimed that Vaughan had then said that there are “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it".
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However, Vaughan had "completely and categorically" denied the allegation.
After the racism allegations against Vaughan, the ex-England batter was let go from BBC show ‘The Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show'.
Meanwhile, taking note of the allegations the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had suspended Yorkshire from hosting international matches over handling the issues raised by Rafiq.