Root says he is in contact with his former Yorkshire teammateEngland squad in Brisbane for final Ashes warm-up matchJoe Root says he has been in touch with Azeem Rafiq since his former teammate detailed his experiences of discrimination at Yorkshire to MPs earlier this month – but the
England captain still maintains he never witnessed any racist behaviour at the club.
Rafiq admitted in front of a parliamentary select committee he was “hurt” by Root’s previous failure to recall the abuse he suffered while at Headingley. He also said he found it “strange” he couldn’t remember anything because he had been present on nights out when Gary Ballance, the former England player who Root once shared a flat with, had called him a “paki”.