A British Asian sacked by Yorkshire in the wake of the… racism scandal that swept the province accused them of acting with “cruelty” towards staff members.
Kunwar Bansil, one of 14 employees who signed a letter to the board complaining about the failure to stand up to Azeem Rafiq’s “one-man mission to bring the club down”, became the last ex-employee to denounce Lord Patel’s response to the crisis.
Yorkshire-born sports scientist Bansil, 37, was sacked by the county without warning in December over the purge of their entire coaching team by their new chairman.
Unlike most of his colleagues, Bansil soon found a new job as head of science and medicine in Nottinghamshire, but he said the “excruciating” scars of losing his previous role remain.
He told The Times: “Kamlesh Patel spoke about transparency, honesty, listening, involving everyone and taking people on a journey, then fired 16 people.
“Unless you’ve been through that, you don’t quite understand the utter brutality of the way the situation has been handled. Kamlesh has a background in social care and mental health.
“I wonder if he ever considered the mental health or well-being of 16 people and their families? People’s professional careers were cut short; reputations were irreparably damaged. Has the club taken good care of players? It still bothers me a lot, and I’d love to have a conversation with the people who made that decision to understand why it had to happen.”
An independent inquiry confirmed seven of the 43 charges made by former Yorkshire spinner Rafiq, while the England and Wales Cricket Board has charged seven of the county’s current or former players over the scandal.
Bansil, who joined them in 2013, said: “I was never aware of any racism or complaints about racism. The picture painted of Yorkshire was that being a colored person makes you feel unwelcome, regularly bullied or discriminated against. That can’t be further than my experience with the club.”
He added: “I have been involved in racist clashes. I know what racism is, how it feels and what it smells like.”
Yorkshire said in response: “We are aware of Mr Bansil’s view that there was no problem with racism at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club. As is known, he made his views known in a joint letter with 15 others to the then board of the club.