Azeem Rafiq
“Your morals and values are more important than, I guess being the best in the world or playing cricket for England.”
Azeem Rafiq
Azeem Rafiq’s story shocked the cricketing world. The racism he faced, and the appalling behaviour of his former club, Yorkshire, was the subject of several sport select committee hearings. The former professional cricketer is an inspiring and pioneering anti-racism campaigner who had led the way in changing the face of England and Wales cricket.
Rafiq’s brave actions forced an overhaul of the toxic culture and behaviour both present at Yorkshire and in the sport more widely. As a result of his whistle blowing, other cricketers found the courage to stand up and recount their experiences of racism in the sport.
As a cricketer, Rafiq was known as a shrewd tactician and performed particularly well in the shorter formats of the game. From 2009-10, he was captain of the England under-19 cricket team, playing alongside numerous players that went on to be part of the 2019 World Cup Winning team. He played as a spinning all-rounder during his two spells at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, between 2008-14 and 2016-18.
Rafiq is a passionate speaker on equality, diversity and inclusion, and shares his story of fighting racism in the workplace to help identify and root our institutional racism. His book, “It’s Not Banter, It’s Racism: What Cricket’s Dirty Secret Reveals About Our Society”, was published in June 2024.