St james's palace, Palace in London, England

Leeds, Jan 12 Azeem Rafiq, the former Yorkshire player whose claims of facing racism in the club shook England's domestic cricket systems, has called for the club to be allowed in hosting international cricket matches again. He added that Yorkshire Chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel is making efforts to make the club move in right direction.In November 2021, Yorkshire were suspended from hosting international or major matches by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for their 'wholly unacceptable' handling of the racism claims made by Rafiq. It meant that Headingley's hosting rights in 2022 of a Test match against New Zealand and an ODI against South Africa were taken away."It has been a whirlwind since I appeared in front of MPs almost two months ago, and what Yorkshire and Lord Patel have done to bring change is definitely a step in the right direction. That is why I believe the time is right to say they should be given back the international cricket so vital to their very survival. The people of Yorkshire should be able to watch England in Test and white-ball games at Headingley this summer," wrote Rafiq in Daily Mail on Wednesday."The last thing I want now are kids in Leeds, Bradford and throughout the county being denied the high-level cricket that could inspire them. Rather than help solve the problems in the game, Yorkshire's international suspension could end up adding to them," added Rafiq, a former England U19 captain.Rafiq also praised the appointment of former England pacer Darren Gough as the director of cricket in Yorkshire. "The right thing includes appointing Darren Gough as director of cricket. It's no secret we are friends since he was one of my first captains and we have always stayed in touch. I'm encouraged by his involvement, not least because the game needs people like him back directly involved. Goughie will get things done."Rafiq signed off by saying that people need to support Yorkshire in their attempt to change things after whatever happened due to the racism scandal. "Change is coming and I'm hopeful and encouraged. We need to show a bit of love and compassion now. We need to all work together. That is the only way we will create an environment that is genuinely welcoming for everyone.""I don't want Yorkshire to disappear from that environment. At first in all this I believed international cricket should be taken away from them. But they have done enough to warrant getting it back, for now at least. I want to see England playing at Headingley this summer. I may even pop down to watch myself."Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

St James's PalaceFOLLOW

St james's palace, Latest News

Hobart, Jan 15 England were struggling for 34/2 in their first innings at dinner, trailing Australia by 269 ... ...

New Delhi, Jan 14 England cricketers Joe Root and Mark Wood are contemplating participating in the IPL 2022 ... ...

London, Jan 14 The former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq believes that cricket is still living "in a lot ... ...

London, Jan 14 Starting from January 17, the self-isolation period for fully vaccinated people in England who test ... ...

New Delhi, Jan 13 Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan lavished praise on India's fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, ... ...

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has said that India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world right now across all three formats of the game. ...

England Test skipper Joe Root has revealed that he is thinking of entering the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction but the final decision will be made once he thinks that it would not hamper his Test game. ...

Leeds, Jan 12 Azeem Rafiq, the former Yorkshire player whose claims of facing racism in the club shook ... ...