Lord Patel set to quit as Yorkshire chairman in March
Lord Kamlesh Patel has confirmed that he will step down as the chairman of English county Yorkshire at the club's next annual general meeting in March. Patel was appointed in November 2021 after Roger Hutton resigned over Yorkshire’s response to the infamous Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.
After taking over amid the fallout from Azeem Rafiq's allegations, Lord Patel has overseen extensive changes at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The 62-year-old is now set to step down from his position after helping the club gain new sponsors, having lost a significant number over its handling of the scandal.
“Now is the time for me to move on," Patel told The Cricketer while announcing his decision. "I have achieved most of the things I came in to achieve but, in doing so, I have attracted some fierce criticism. My hope is that when I go, I will take the criticism with me and the new management at the club will be able to move forward without any of that baggage.”
So much to say on this but for now -
— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) January 6, 2023
Lord Kamlesh Patel should be thanked for making sure @YorkshireCCC is still got the lights on https://t.co/pgO3YlzP2x
Under Patel, Former England pace bowler Darren Gough has been permanently appointed managing director of cricket at Yorkshire, while former West Indies all-rounder Ottis Gibson took over as head coach in January last year. Besides, Stephen Vaughan has been appointed chief executive officer. Notably, Director of cricket Martyn Moxon, head coach Andrew Gale and all members of the coaching staff were among 16 people to leave Yorkshire before the new regime began, in December 2021.
"There is still much for the club to do, but I have the strongest faith that Yorkshire will be back at the pinnacle of English cricket for the long term," Patel added, as quoted by the BBC.