Azeem Rafiq (; born 27 February 1991) is an English cricketer who played professionally in England for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. A right-arm off-spin bowler, Rafiq played for the county between 2008 and 2014 and 2016 and 2018, making his senior debut at the age of 17. He captained the England under-15 and under-19 teams, and in 2012 became the youngest man to captain a Yorkshire team as well as the first person of Asian origin to do so.Hashim, Taha (17 August 2020) The extraordinary life of Azeem Rafiq, Wisden online. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
In September 2020, Rafiq made accusations of racism and bullying in Yorkshire. An independent report found that a number of his accusations were true and the case became a major media story in the United Kingdom. It led to several resignations at the club and was the subject of investigations by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in the British parliament.
Early life
Rafiq was born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1991, one of five children, and moved to the United Kingdom in 2001. He grew up in Barnsley in South Yorkshire and attended Holgate School in the town;Westerby, John (8 July 2008) Azeem Rafiq bowls Yorkshire’s costliest overs. The Times. Retrieved 6 November 2021. as a child he played cricket for Barnsley Cricket Club and Yorkshire schools teams.Hopps, David (2008) Yorkshire throw a warm arm around 'sloughened' Rafiq, The Guardian, 9 July 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Azeem Rafiq, CricInfo. Retrieved 14 August 2012. He was a member of Yorkshire's cricket academy and captained the England under-15 team in 2006.
The same year, Rafiq was the recipient of a Sport England award and came to the attention of England bowling coach David Parsons, who earmarked him as a possible future England bowler.Brett, Oliver (26 June 2007) Barnsley's teenage spin sensation, BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2008. He was Yorkshire's Junior Performer of the Year in 2007Impact Report 2007, South Yorkshire Sports Partnership, 2007. Archived copy retrieved 4 November 2021. and the club's academy player of the year in 2008 as well as being awarded a Brian Johnston Memorial Trust scholarship.News about former Johneers scholars, Brian Johnston Memorial Trust, 2011. Archived 15 June 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2021. He made his Second XI debut for the county during the same year.Azeem Rafiq, CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
Senior cricket career Rafiq made his senior debut for Yorkshire's First XI in a Twenty20 Cup match against Nottinghamshire in June 2008. He bowled two overs in the match which Yorkshire won.Ward, John (27 June 2008) Rashid stars to put Yorkshire through, CricInfo. Retrieved 4 November 2021. At the time however, Rafiq did not hold a UK passport and so did not qualify as a domestic player. Yorkshire, who were only allowed to register one overseas player for the competition, had not deregistered their other overseas player and, as a result, were expelled from the competition.Player row sparks Twenty20 chaos, BBC Sport, 8 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Yorkshire launch Twenty20 appeal, BBC Sport, 11 July 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2021.Warner, David (2009) Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2009. Reprinted in Hamilton, Duncan (ed) (2011) Wisden on Yorkshire, pp. 194–195. London: Bloomsbury. (Available online. Retrieved 6 November 2021.) In August Rafiq was given special dispensation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play for Yorkshire for the remainder of the season while his application for British citizenship was being processed;Azeem Rafiq available for Yorkshire, CricInfo, 21 August 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Rafiq's family had begun the process of applying for citizenship some time before, but the process had been "prolonged" by the Home Office.
His citizenship was confirmed later in the yearAfter a nightmare 2008, Tykes spinner’s star is on the rise, The Press, 6 January 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and in October he signed a three-year senior contract with Yorkshire.Rafiq signs three-year Yorkshire deal, CricInfo, 3 October 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He captained the county's academy team in a series of matches in Abu Dhabi during the winter and toured South Africa with the England under-19 team in early 2009.
England under-19 captaincy Rafiq made his first-class and List-A debuts for Yorkshire during the 2009 season; aged 18, he scored a century for the team in his second first-class match.Karachi-born Azeem Rafiq makes Yorkshire history Dawn, 23 July 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Ward, John (19 June 2009) Rafiq shows talent with a ton, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He played for England under-19s against Bangladesh during the summer, taking six wickets in an inning at Scarborough and another five-wicket haul at Derby in the two under-19 Test matchesEngland Under-19 cruise to ten-wicket win, CricInfo, 8 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Bangladesh survive Rafiq spell, CricInfo, 15 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. before captaining the team during the under-19 One Day International matches which followed.
He was captain of the team during the under-19 tour of Bangladesh later in the year, but gave up the role halfway through the ODI series, before being re-appointed to captain England at the Under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand in early 2010.Azeem Rafiq reinstated as captain, CricInfo, 16 December 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Following the tournament, the team's then-coach Mark Robinson called Rafiq a "fierce competitor" and an "outstanding captain" who had "led the team really, really well".Coach sees first-class talent in Under-19s, CricInfo, 30 January 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
Later in 2010, however, Rafiq was dropped from the team for breaking mid-match curfews during a series of matches against Sri Lanka under-19s; he responded by publishing an attack against the team's new coach John Abrahams on his Twitter account, deleting the tweets once he realised they were publicly viewable.Andrew Strauss warns players about using social media, BBC Sport, 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010. Yorkshire suspended him Yorkshire suspend Azeem Rafiq following Twitter rant, BBC Sport, 29 July 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2021. and the ECB later gave him a one-month ban from all cricket as a result of the tweets.Twitter tirade lands Azeem Rafiq one-month ECB ban, BBC Sport, 4 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010. (Archived version (4 August 2010). Retrieved 4 August 2010.)Rafiq suspended for one month after Twitter tirade, CricInfo, 4 August 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
Loan to Derbyshire After spending the winter playing grade cricket in Australia, Rafiq spent a month at the start of the 2011 season on loan at Derbyshire County Cricket Club to play regular first-team cricket. He played three County Championship and five Clydesdale Bank 40 matches for the county, taking 11 wickets in what was considered to have been a successful spell at the club, before returning to Yorkshire to play in their Twenty20 Cup campaign later in the season.Hardcastle, Graham (12 June 2011) Derbyshire skipper Luke Sutton sings Azeem Rafiq's praises, Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Azeem Rafiq joins Derbyshire on loan, CricInfo, 23 April 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Speaking after the loan, Rafiq said that he had gained confidence from his time at Derbyshire and "felt loved and wanted out there".Hardcastle, Graham (16 June 2011) Azeem Rafiq's loan spell to benefit Yorkshire, The Press. Retrieved 6 November 2021. At the end of the season he signed a two-year contract extension with Yorkshire after the club was relegated from Division One of the County Championship.Yorkshire re-shuffle begins, CricInfo, 22 September 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
Yorkshire captain and release
Following the dropping of fellow spin bowler Adil Rashid, Rafiq came back into Yorkshire's County Championship team in 2012, the first time he had played in the county's Championship team since 2010.Winter, Alex (29 May 2012) Rashid dropped by Yorkshire, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. In June, he captained Yorkshire in six matches in the 2012 Twenty20 Cup when Andrew Gale was injured, becoming the youngest captain in the county's history and the first player of Asian origin to captain the Yorkshire team.Culley, Jon (24 July 2012) Azeem Rafiq shows his credentials, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. The team won five of the six matches he was captain forAldred, Tanya (14 November 2021) Azeem Rafiq: from England hopeful to revealing cricket’s racism, The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2021. and Yorkshire reached the final of the competition, losing to Hampshire with Gale back in the team as captain; Rafiq took one wicket in the final.Final (N), Cardiff, Aug 25 2012, Friends Life t20, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
Towards the end of the 2012 season, Rafiq was instrumental in Yorkshire's promotion back to Division One of the County Championship. He played in ten of the county's 16 Championship matches during the season and took 26 wickets. He took three wickets and scored important runs in a victory over Gloucestershire in a rain-affected match at Scarborough at the end of August,Smith, Les (31 August 2012) McGrath's wise head serves Yorkshire well, CricInfo, 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire to go second, BBC Sport, 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and against Essex in September scored two half-centuries and took eight wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul, to help guarantee Yorkshire's promotion.Dobell, George (13 September 2012) McGrath gets Yorkshire over the line, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021.Dobell, George (14 September 2012) Yorkshire secure redemption after promotion, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Journalist George Dobell was impressed with Rafiq's "grit and determination" while batting in the first inningsDobell, George (11 September 2012) Rafiq and Sidebottom show Yorkshire grit, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. and with his bowling skill throughout the match.Dobell, George (12 September 2012) Yorkshire take control and lead, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 November 2021. Rafiq's five-wicket haul was the first of his senior career and his match figures of 8/115 were his best in first-class cricket. Dobell wrote that he considered that Rafiq had a chance of playing for England at some point and that "he has a golden future".