Gary Ballance, the former England Test batsman, has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons amid Azeem Rafiq’s racial abuse case. Gary Ballance, who played 23 Tests for England so far, released a detailed statement, admitting his usage of some offensive and derogatory terms on Pakistan origin cricketer Azeem Rafiq when playing alongside him for Yorkshire.
The 31-year-old’s statement highlighted his regret at uttering those words. He also claimed he was unaware of the distress it had caused Azeem Rafiq. Gary Ballance called the Karachi-born cricketer his “best mate” in cricket and said he never intended to malign or agitate Azeem Rafiq by reducing him to tears.
Gary Ballance Deeply Regretted Some Of The Languages He Used Against His Closest Friend And Supporter, Azeem Rafiq
Azeem Rafiq’s claims of facing racism during his stint with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club surfaced in September 2020. The off-spinner revealed that he was close to committing suicide as he felt targeted due to his race.
However, while Yorkshire investigated his allegations, they released a report after too much delay. The report, produced by an independent panel, initially revealed that an unnamed player used the term “Paki” when speaking to the off-spinner. Yorkshire dismissed it by perceiving it as friendly, good-natured banter between the two cricketers and refused to take action.
In response, the association faced backlash from Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Julia Knight, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee chair. Sajid Javid feels ruling it out as banter is unacceptable, while Julia Knight wanted greater accountability and transparency from the club’s chairman, Roger Hutton.
In a lengthy and emotional statement issued by Yorkshire on behalf of the player, Gary Ballance said that he “deeply regretted” some of the languages he had used in the past, but doubled down on the report’s findings, insisting that Azeem Rafiq had been his “closest friend and supporter in cricket”, and adding that he had once invited the player and his bowling coach to stay at his family home in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe-born Gary Ballance said he and Azeem Rafiq “remained closest friends throughout the time we exchanged these inappropriate comments” with his team-mate travelling to Zimbabwe to stay with Gary Ballance’s family. Gary Ballance said he was also invited to Azeem Rafiq’s wedding in Pakistan, which he could not attend.
Azeem Rafiq Spoke Publicly About Racial Incidents Faced At Yorkshire
Gary Ballance’s statement has come at a dramatic time for county club Yorkshire. The Emerald Group and Yorkshire Tea have already severed ties with the county club Yorkshire after their mishandling of Azeem Rafiq’s case. Yorkshire Tea’s statement expressed their displeasure at reading about the 31-year-old and decided to end its partnership with immediate effect.
Anchor Butter emerged as yet another brand, which confirmed via Twitter that they will have nothing to do with Yorkshire moving forward. Emerald Group described its withdrawal as the title sponsor at Headingley Stadium, demanding radical action to eradicate racism and uphold all moral values.
Azeem Rafiq, who is of Pakistani origin, had spoken publicly about these racial incidents last year. He came out in September of 2020 with the allegation that he was ‘bullied’, ‘targeted’, and ‘ridiculed’ because of his ethnic background. He revealed that the players of Asian origin were often referred to as ‘Pakis’ or ‘elephant washers’.
Azeem Rafiq played in 38 First class, 35 List A, and 95 T20 matches representing Yorkshire from 2008-2014 and also in 2016 and 2018, where he picked up 71, 43, and 102 wickets respectively and even scored 1 ton in First Class. He played in Derbyshire on short term loan in 2011.