Lord Kamlesh Patel will step down as chair of Yorkshire on the membership’s subsequent annual common assembly.
Lord Patel joined Yorkshire in November 2021 following the fallout from Azeem Rafiq’s allegations the earlier yr of racist remedy whereas on the county.
Patel oversaw a interval of reform that resulted in worldwide cricket returning to Headingley and a deal with enhancing equality, variety and inclusion but additionally noticed the departure of a major variety of employees.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to work for such a prestigious organisation,” he mentioned in a membership assertion.
“I have made the difficult decision to step aside at the next AGM and enable the club to continue on its important journey of change under a new chair.
“I would like to thank those members who have been hugely supportive of the changes that the board have introduced at Headingley. I would also like to thank the staff and board members who have all worked tirelessly during what has been a transformational period in Yorkshire’s history.
“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.”
The departures of high-profile employees members, together with all the teaching group, proved extremely controversial and Yorkshire agreed expensive settlement packages after accepting the dismissals had been procedurally unfair.
Patel mentioned he has no regrets, although, telling The Cricketer: “It was absolutely the right thing to do. By instinct, I always want to take people with me on the journey. But some people wouldn’t accept the extent of the problem or the need to change. We had to move on without them.
“It wasn’t just about Azeem, either. I spoke to hundreds of people who had suffered in a similar way. But they won’t come forward as they have seen what happened to Azeem.
“And it wasn’t all institutional racism. There was some very deliberate, very conscious racism.”
Patel has confronted robust criticism for his function within the occasions of the final yr, and he mentioned: “My hope is that, once I go, I’ll take the criticism with me and the brand new administration on the membership will be capable of transfer ahead with none of that baggage.
By intuition, I at all times wish to take folks with me on the journey. But some folks would not settle for the extent of the issue or the necessity to change.
“We had a small group of people who wanted to find procedural obstacles to thwart our progress, and we have had to spend many hours and much money to counter them.
“Ironically, I would have left the club much quicker – which seems to be what they want – had they not tried so hard to derail me.”
Rafiq tweeted his reward for Patel, saying: “So much to say on this but for now – Lord Kamlesh Patel should be thanked for making sure @YorkshireCCC (has) still got the lights on.”
Stephen Vaughan was appointed chief government at Yorkshire in November whereas Darren Gough took on the function of managing director on a everlasting foundation.
Vaughan mentioned: “Kamlesh should be extremely proud of what he has achieved at Headingley during his tenure as chair. The structures that have been put in place are vital in ensuring that Yorkshire is a club that people are proud to be associated with.”
