Joe Root says it’s ‘troublesome’ to see Azeem Rafiq ‘hurting’

Joe Root says it is 'difficult' to see Azeem Rafiq 'hurting'

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England Test captain Joe Root says it is “difficult” to see former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq “hurting” after he was the victim of “inappropriate behaviour” at the club.

He later accused Yorkshire of downplaying racism after “several of the allegations” were upheld in an independent investigation. Yorkshire offered “profound apologies”.

Root, who played with Rafiq at Yorkshire, told BBC Sport: “From a personal point of view, Azeem is an ex-team-mate and a friend. It is difficult to see him hurting as he is.

“I hope that this can move quickly and can be dealt with swiftly moving forward, from a club point of view and for everyone involved.

“If anything, it just shows that we need to keep finding ways of making our game as diverse as we can, keep improving it, and make sure this is the last time that we have this conversation.”

The independent investigation began in September and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) wrote to the club…

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