Rafiq says racism in English cricket made his life 'hell'
In more than an hour of questioning by members of parliament, Rafiq, 30, an offspin bowler and former captain of the England Under-19s of Pakistani descent, catalogued a damning culture of widespread racism at Yorkshire.
He and other players with Asian backgrounds were subjected to comments such as "You lot sit over there" and routinely referred to as "Paki", Rafiq said. "I felt isolated, humiliated at times," he added in emotional testimony to the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) panel.
The scandal has shaken English sport, cost Yorkshire the right to host England internationals, seen the club's top brass quit, and embroiled former England captain Michael Vaughan and present England skipper Joe Root.
Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire from 2008-14 and again from 2016-18, recounted having red wine poured down his throat as a 15-year-old and spoke of Asian players being blamed for mistakes while they were fasting.
He spoke of being "ripped to shreds" by former coach Martin Moxon on his first day back after the death of his child.
He also said the racism he endured at Yorkshire was "without a shadow of doubt" replicated across the country and said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were more concerned with box-ticking exercises than increasing the number of South Asian players becoming professionals.
