Lord Patel to step down as Yorkshire chairman in March

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 10 January, 2023

KAMLESH PATEL, Lord Patel of Bradford, OBE will leave his position as chairman in March, confirmed by the Yorkshire County Cricket Club on Friday (6).

The club was in turmoil when Patel, 62, succeeded Roger Hutton in November 2021. He was charged with leading the team through the racism incident involving Azeem Rafiq.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to work for such a prestigious organisation,” said Patel.

“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”, he added.

After taking over in the midst of the repercussions from Rafiq’s claims and considerable criticism of how the club handled the situation, Patel has overseen significant improvements at Yorkshire.

Former Yorkshire spinner Rafiq said in 2020 that abuse at the club had left him close to taking his own life.

Rafiq tweeted: “Lord Kamlesh Patel should be thanked for making sure Yorkshire has still got the lights on.”

The club has also picked up new sponsors after losing a good deal of them due to how it handled the crisis.

Stephen Vaughan, chief executive of Yorkshire, said Patel should be proud of what he had achieved during his tenure at the club.

“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,” Vaughan said.

“Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity are at the heart of our Club, and I am excited to work with the board, executive team and new chair to continue on this journey of meaningful change.”

In a new interview with the Cricketer magazine on announcing his departure, Patel said he has “achieved most of the things I came in to achieve but, in doing so, I have attracted some fierce criticism”.

He also added: “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.”

Lord Patel was awarded the Order of British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (1999) for “Services to Ethnic Minority Health Issues”.

He was also given the Man of the Year Award in the GG2 Leadership Awards, for consistent lifetime achievement and contribution to public sector services in 2015.