EXCLUSIVE – GEORGE DOBELL: Patel will continue to oversee the club’s response to charges levelled by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) in connection to racism allegations
Lord Kamlesh Patel is to step down as chair of Yorkshire in March following a tumultuous spell at the helm of the club.
Patel was appointed in November 2021 in the aftermath of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of racism. His spell as chair saw him persuade the ECB to return international hosting rights to Headingley – they had been withdrawn following Yorkshire’s original bungled response to the crisis – and introduce free kit and coaching to all on the club’s pathway.
It also saw him preside over the exit of around 20 members of staff; an episode that has proved especially contentious.
He has now informed the Yorkshire board a replacement should be confirmed at the club’s AGM in March.
He will, however, continue to oversee the club’s response to charges levelled by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) in connection to those racism allegations (the ECB hopes those proceedings will start in February and be concluded at the end of March) and the one remaining legal case by one of those previously contracted by the club, Wayne Morton. 
Lord Kamlesh Patel is resigning as Yorkshire chair [Getty Images]
“Now is the time for me to move on,” Patel told The Cricketer. “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.
“Personally, I can live with the criticism. But it is damaging to the club for so many staff hours to be consumed by these issues. 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.
“They were resources we could have been using to bring in new sponsorship deals. I honestly believe these attacks, from a very small group of people, have cost the club millions of pounds.
“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. I never sought to be Yorkshire chair. I never wanted to be in the role for years and years. I was here to do a job and that job is complete.”
His biggest achievement, in his eyes, is obvious.
“I think there really was a possibility that Yorkshire, as a recognisable organisation, might not exist any more,” Patel says. “We had no sponsors and we had no major matches. Our basic governance was very poor.
“We had to regain the confidence of the ECB and sponsors and we did that by showing we had undergone a cultural change and that our governance was the best in class. And we had to make those changes very fast.
“But I’m proud the club has introduced free kit and coaching to all the kids on the pathway, too. It costs around £500,000 a year but it means the sport is accessible to everyone. And I’m proud that we have put women’s and girl’s cricket at the heart of the club.
“We now have a truly excellent board – one of the best I’ve ever been involved with – and new, really good, leadership across all other areas of the club. I’m satisfied the right people are in place to take the club forward.”
And those dismissals?
Patel has been in the role since November 2021 [Getty Images]
“It was absolutely the right thing to do,” he says. “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.”
Like his predecessor as Yorkshire chair, Roger Hutton, Patel leaves with criticism at a lack of support from the ECB.
“There were times when a simple message of support would have been very helpful,” he says. “I was, for example, surprised and disappointed nobody contacted me following the recent DCMS hearings. It feels as if they wanted me to do their dirty work for them and they’ve left me to take the flak.
“But I’ve no regrets. I declined the role when first offered it but, on a level, I know I would have regretted not helping out when given the chance.
“It’s a great club and has many great people involved with it. I hope that, once I’m out of the way, they can go forward to a bright future without any of the baggage I seem to carry with me.”
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