Michael Vaughan temporarily withdrew from Test Match Special on Monday, almost two weeks after he was charged with the Yorkshire racism scandal.
England’s 2005 Ashes award-winning captain, who is also a columnist for the Telegraph Sport, made the decision after concluding the country’s Test series with New Zealand.
Vaughan was one of seven former or current Yorkshire players indicted by the English and Wales Cricket Board earlier this month on allegations made by Azeem Rafiq and others.
He categorically denied that he made a race-insensitive remark to Rafiq and other Muslim players when they were teammates 13 years ago.
Vaughan said: “On many occasions I have put my views on the issues concerning the YCCC on record.
“It is always a pity when comments on matters from the field take away the focus of what is happening on the field. In the light of the ongoing dialogue on the subject, I have decided to
retires for the time being from my work with the BBC.
“The key driver for this is my concern for the well-being of my family members and my desire to protect their family life. Retiring temporarily is also in the interest of the game and I hope it will reduce any problems for my work colleagues. ”
A BBC spokesman added: “After talks with Michael Vaughan, we accepted his decision to walk away from our cricket coverage. It is a decision we respect and understand. Michael remains under contract with the BBC. “
This is the second time Vaughan has been absent from Special Tests since the charges against him were first announced in November.
The BBC took him off the air “for editorial reasons” at the time, namely to avoid a “conflict of interest” during his Ashes coverage when it comes to discussing the Yorkshire racism scandal.
It bowed under pressure to bring Vaughan back by saying that next month is expected to “work with Michael again in the future” and he returned properly in March.
This month’s charges reviewed the BBC’s position, but he chose to assist him pending the outcome of the case against him later this year.
On Monday, it appeared that BBC Sport’s BAME Group and 5 Live Diversity Group had written a letter against the decision.
Barbara Slater, the corporation’s director of sport, sent an e-mail to staff yesterday in response: “I would like to assure everyone that the decision-making process has always considered the impact it would have on colleagues – along with a range of other factors. ”