Azeem Rafiq: ‘Nothing’s changed, except I’ve been driven out of the country’
The former Yorkshire bowler appeared before the DCMS committee on Tuesday and highlighted the abuse he and his family have faced since he gave evidence last year
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Your support makes all the difference.Azeem Rafiq has told MPs the only thing which has changed in the 13 months since he first gave harrowing evidence of the racism he faced in cricket is that he and his family have been driven out of the country.
The former Yorkshire bowler appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday for the first time since November 2021, and highlighted the abuse he and his family have faced since he blew the whistle on his experiences.
The 31-year-old said: “If I was to look at 13 months on from me opening my heart out, all that’s changed really is that me and my family have been driven out of the country. And that’s a sad element of it.”
Rafiq, who moved with his immediate family to Pakistan last month, recounted incidents of abuse to the committee, including a man defecating outside his parents’ house.
“I would love to come here and tell you how much cricket has changed, but unfortunately what it feels like is that cricket is very much in denial,” he said.
“There are still a group of people out there who feel like cricket is the victim in this.”
He added: “The way I’ve been attacked and abused, why would you speak out? I’ve got a little hope in the new (ECB) leadership, but it’s very little at the minute.”
The ECB charged a number of individuals in relation to Rafiq’s allegations of abuse in June, along with Yorkshire for the county’s handling of those allegations.
However, the Cricket Discipline Commission has yet to hear the case after a dispute over whether it should take place in public or private.