Not only foreign but Indian cricketers have also faced racism. This was claimed by former Yorkshire staff. Supporting cricketer Azim Rafiq’s claims against Yorkshire County surrounded by allegations of racism, his former staffers said that India’s legendary Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was also called ‘Steve’ for being Asian and skinned.
Former West Indies international players Tino Best and Pakistan’s Rana Naved ul Hasan have produced evidence to support Rafiq’s allegations. His allegations are under investigation.
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According to ‘Cricinfo’, two former Yorkshire employees Taj Butt and Tony Bury have given evidence against institutional racism at the club. Butt, who worked as a community development officer with the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, said, “When referring to the Asian community, there were frequent references to taxi drivers and restaurant workers.”
He said, ‘He used to call everyone of Asian origin’ Steve ‘. Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was also called Steve because he could not pronounce his name.
Butt resigned within six months. Bauri served as a coach from 1996 to 1996 and was a cultural diversity officer at the Yorkshire Cricket Board from 1996 to 2011. He was later made the Cricket Development Manager for the development of sports in black communities.
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He said, ‘Many youths had difficulty adjusting to the atmosphere of the dressing room as racist comments were made on them. This impacted his performance and he was accused of causing trouble. Rafiq, who left Yorkshire County two years ago, even said that fed up with this bitter experience, he had even thought of committing suicide.
