Pakistani-origin English cricketer speaks up on racial segregation in his career
LONDON: England Under-19 player and captain of Yorkshire club team Azeem Rafiq has claimed that he had to face so much racial segregation during domestic cricket that he had reached at the verge of committing suicide.
Family of Azeem belongs to Karachi and he is nephew of the heart and soul of Pakistan’s disabled cricket Saleem Kareem. Talking to Cricinfo website, the Pakistani-origin player said he was always treated as a ‘foreigner’ and he had lost trust in humanity after he faced racial behavior from the management.
“I faced racial segregation and worst environment at the club cricket. I decided to speak up on this sensitive issue to prevent others from pain,” he said.
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Azeem Rafiq said he had reached on the verge of committing suicide while playing for Yorkshire club. “I was dying from inside. It was a terrific job for me go to work. Nobody agreed to listen to me,” he said.
He said he was well aware that by sounding off on this matter he might be hurting his opportunities in the game, however he knew that it was the right thing to do and he would do it even if he had to do it all alone.
