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For the fourth year in a row, he is among the top three scorers in the IPL but his strike rate has been dipping

Alagappan Muthu07-Oct-2021There has always been a clamour for KL Rahul to bat freely. He has all the shots in the book and, at a pinch, he is more than capable of inventing a few new ones. Those abilities were all on show in Punjab Kings’ final match of IPL 2021 when Rahul scored 98* off a mere 42 balls in his side’s six-wicket win. So why does he always insist on batting within himself?”I feel like I may end up letting the team down if I play the way I want to play.”Rahul has been a sedate presence at the top of the order ever since he was made captain of the Punjab franchise. This added responsibility may well be playing a part in his throttling down, and so too a middle order that doesn’t really have a mainstay.Related

KL Rahul smashes six-studded 98* to keep Punjab Kings' dreams alive (just about)

Runs continue to flow no matter what method he uses though.In 2018, when he broke the record for the fastest fifty in IPL history, he finished as the tournament’s third-highest run-getter with a strike rate of 158. In 2019, he was second with a strike rate of 135. In 2020, he finally claimed the orange cap but the strike rate came down to 129.This season Rahul seems to have found a better balance, his 626 runs – leading the charts right now – coming at a strike rate of 139. Aggression up top was the need of the hour on Thursday after Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 134 on a good batting pitch.”We wanted to score it before 14 overs [to try and stay in playoff contention],” Rahul said at the presentation. “Today was one of those days where I could hit every ball. [I] had complete clarity of what I wanted to do. No better feeling than hitting the ball from the middle of the bat.”Rahul’s innings featured so many stunning hits. Not least of which was the one he took on his own body. A Josh Hazlewood bouncer left a bruise to the batter’s forehead, but he shook it off very quickly and launched into the fast bowler, taking him for 4, 4, 0 and 6 and setting the tone for a near-flawless innings.The Kings captain cruised to fifty off 25 balls and was within sight of a hundred even in a small chase.”I don’t think these innings come too often in this world,” team-mate Aiden Markram said after the game. “He needs to enjoy that. He’s done something quite special tonight. Hopefully he appreciates it. This team, behind the scenes, has gone crazy after every shot as you can imagine. It’s been unbelievable to watch.”Proof of Markram’s words came later in the day at the post-match press conference when Chris Jordan gushed about Rahul’s batting prowess.”KL is a world class batsman. It’s such a joy to watch him play. I first played with him when I played for RCB back in 2016 and even then, some of the shots he played, I just knew he was a class player. It just seemed like, especially today, any time he felt like hitting a six, he just took it, no matter where the ball was. As I said he’s such a high quality player, can play in various situations and in various ways and he’s more or less a 360 degree player as well. It was just great to see him go out there today and lead from the front and get us over the line in timely fashion to give us an outside chance of qualifying.”Whether Kings make the playoffs or not – and it looks unlikely, they still need Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians to lose and lose big – Rahul’s form all through the IPL has been a huge plus for them, and for India as well as they prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

MatériaMais Notícias

O meia Roni preocupa para a estreia do Corinthians no Campeonato Paulista, no próxima terça-feira (25), ás 21h, contra a Ferroviária, na Neo Química Arena. A uma semana da partida, o atleta segue fora dos treinos com bola, pois trata dores no músculo posterior da coxa direita.

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O meia tem sentido a região desde o último sábado (15) e tem feito tratamento com a equipe de fisioterapia.

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> GALERIA:Timão ativo no mercado para “se livrar” de atletas fora dos planos

O jogador já perdeu o jogo-treino contra a Inter de Limeira, no último domingo (16), e a tendência é que perca também o diante do Audax, nesta quarta-feira (19), o que dificultará a presença dele na primeira partida oficial do Timão na temporada.

De toda forma, a ausência do camisa 29 não será de muito prejuízo para o Corinthians, já que Roni não é titular absoluto na posição e ainda concorre por um espaço no banco de reservas, principalmente após a chegada de reforços no segundo semestre do ano passado, como Giuliano e Renato Augusto, potencializado no início deste ano com a chegada de Paulinho para o mesmo setor.

Cria da base corintiana, o meia tem 46 jogos e quatro gols com a camisa alvinegra. Na última temporada foram 34 partidas, três tentos anotados e uma assistência.

يخوض فريق الكرة الطائرة رجال بـ الأهلي، مباراة هامة وقوية اليوم الأربعاء أمام منافسه الزمالك، وذلك بالمواجهة التي تجمع بينهما في إطار لقاءات بطولة الدوري المصري.

ومن المقرر أن يواجه فريق طائرة الأهلي نظيره الزمالك في المباراة الثالثة من سلسلة (Best Of 3) في نصف نهائي بطولة الدوري، في صالة حسن مصطفى.

وتنافست أندية الأهلي والزمالك وبتروجيت والاتحاد السكندري، على لقب بطولة دوري الطائرة للموسم الحالي.

وكان الأهلي قد تمكن من الفوز على الزمالك بنتيجة 3-1، في أولى مباريات (Best Of 3) ضمن منافسات نصف نهائي بطولة الدوري.

بينما فاز الزمالك في المباراة الثانية بنتيجة 3 أشواط مقابل شوط وحيد في ليلة أمس الثلاثاء.

طالع | الزمالك يفوز على الأهلي في نصف نهائي دوري الكرة الطائرة.. واللجوء لمباراة فاصلة

ويتأهل الفائز من الأهلي والزمالك لملاقاة فريق بتروجت في النهائى بعد فوزه على الاتحاد السكندري في نصف النهائي. موعد مباراة الأهلي والزمالك اليوم في الدوري المصري للكرة الطائرة

تنطلق المباراة اليوم الأربعاء 19 مارس، في تمام الساعة 10:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الـ 11:30 مساءً بتوقيت السعودية. القنوات الناقلة لمباراة الأهلي والزمالك اليوم في دوري الكرة الطائرة

من المقرر أن يتم إذاعة المباراة بين فريقي الأهلي والزمالك، عبر قناة أون تايم سبورتس 1، وقناة الأهلي.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا

Unai Emery has publicly admitted that one Aston Villa player has dropped his levels compared to last season. The Villans were in Carabao Cup action this week as they were knocked out of the competition courtesy of a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

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The Carabao Cup represented an opportunity for Villa to end their trophy drought, but Emery’s decision to make changes to the starting XI backfired as they failed to make it to the last eight.

After the game, Emery was asked about his decision to change the team, but the Spaniard stuck by his decision: “We started with 11 players in the first-team squad. We started with Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos; they can play in the starting XI playing against Bayern Munich.

“We started with [Ian] Maatsen and Kosta [Nedeljkovic]. We started with [Boubacar] Kamara, with John McGinn, Leon Bailey, Jaden Philogene, Jhon Duran, and [Emiliano] Buendia. I don’t know if I can have some regret.

“We are with our way, building the team, building the structure. Today we competed, but we lost. Of course, I am disappointed and frustrated, but we competed with the players to get the performance. If I am repeating this match 100 times, I am playing with the same players.”

While Emery stands by the decision to make changes to his starting XI, he was also quite vocal about one Villa individual after the game, stating his levels now are not what they were this time last season.

Unai Emery not impressed by Aston Villa star

As reported by Jacob Tanswell, speaking after Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, Unai Emery gave an honest assessment of the performances of Leon Bailey. The 27-year-old joined the Midlands side back in August 2021 from Bayer Leverkusen and has been a key individual for them since, with last season being his best in a Villa shirt.

Bailey, who is on a weekly wage of £120,000 at Villa Park, scored 10 goals and recorded nine assists in 35 Premier League games last season, as he played a very important role in the club reaching the Champions League.

The Jamaica international has struggled to make the same impact in this 2024/25 campaign, as he’s yet to get on the scoresheet in the league.

Leon Bailey’s 2024/25 stats compared to 2023/24

2023/24

2024/25

Goals per 90

0.44

0.00

Assists per 90

0.39

0.42

xG per 90

0.27

0.08

xA per 90

0.40

0.21

Bailey has featured in eight of Villa’s nine Premier League games this season, starting six, and his only contributions going forward have been two assists, which he got against Ipswich Town and most recently against AFC Bournemouth. This time last season, Bailey had three goals and one assist to his name after the same number of league games.

Opener enjoys a near-perfect night with the bat and in the field as England defeat Sri Lanka

Matt Roller01-Nov-20212:31

Jayawardene: Staying low key to Buttler’s success

Jos Buttler’s six-hitting clinic against Australia on Saturday night prompted a question: what’s the best innings an Englishman has played in a T20 World Cup? Then, 48 hours later, Buttler provided an unequivocal answer.There will be nights when English batters have found run-scoring much easier than Buttler did against Sri Lanka in Sharjah but none has paced an innings better, nor executed such a calculated takedown of an opposing attack. The majority of games to date in the Super 12 stage had been decided by the toss; this was decided by the Jos.To comprehend Buttler’s innings requires an understanding of conditions in Sharjah. Ever since the pitch block at this intimate venue was relaid earlier this year, pitches have played slow, with low bounce from a good length its defining feature. This was the third time that this strip had been used in eight days and its skiddy nature rendered timing near-impossible before the dew took over.Related

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Buttler’s innings had started with a shot that has quietly became a trademark since his promotion to open in T20 cricket, a compact back-foot punch through the covers off Dushmantha Chameera which earned him three runs, he struggled early on, inside-edging Lahiru Kumara for four past short fine leg.When England lost three wickets in the powerplay, Buttler recognised that he would have to soak up some pressure. He hardly played a shot in anger against Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s emerging superstar, and their mystery spinner, Maheesh Theekshana, content to nudge singles into gaps. After 10 overs, Buttler had just 24 runs off 30 balls.An undervalued skill for T20 openers is the ability to judge conditions early on. It has proved particularly tricky in this tournament, with teams batting first regularly losing their openers early due to movement off the seam and often undershooting as a result – particularly given the advantages chasing teams have enjoyed after dew has taken over.”You’re trying to get a read of the wicket, and looking for a number or a score,” Buttler explained in an interview with the last week. “After an over or two, you get a bit of a feeling of what the wicket might be like. The skill is you’re trying to work that out as you’re going along and still trying to put pressure on the opposition and play well.”Jos Buttler’s record as a T20I opener•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Perhaps that was the one area of the evening where Buttler fell short of his usual standards. “We were in a bit of trouble [but] the guys were relaying back to the dressing room that 110 might be a good score,” Paul Collingwood, England’s assistant coach, said at the interval; Buttler managed 101 on his own.The second half of his innings was a devastating assault on Sri Lanka’s seamers, with Charith Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka’s medium pace – splitting the fifth-bowler allocation between them – coming in for particularly rough treatment. Buttler spotted the weak links in the attack and pounced, punishing anything full or short.Karunaratne was thumped through and over midwicket with a strong bottom hand and Shanaka, left to bowl the 18th over after going in for an early kill with his main bowlers, came in for particularly harsh treatment: a length ball at 81mph/131kph disappeared over midwicket; his response, a late-dipping slower ball, was bludgeoned back over his head and into the stands with a whip of the bottom hand.Watch cricket live on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the Men’s T20 World Cup live in the US. Match highlights of England vs Sri Lanka is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

Buttler made a rare misjudgement in Chameera’s final over, top-edging a pull to deep square leg. But Pathum Nissanka put down the catch, charging in off the rope, and after two mistimed shots, Buttler rolled his wrists to clip a full toss off his pads for six, joining Heather Knight as the second England player to hit international hundreds in all three formats.All told, Buttler managed 12 runs off 24 balls against spin, but 89 off 43 against seam; after taking 45 balls over his first 50 runs, his next 51 took just 22. His average as an opener in T20 internationals is now 60.50 with a strike rate of 149.17, a remarkable cocktail of dependability and destruction.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I found it tough early on, the spinners especially tricky with the low bounce and they were hard to get away,” Buttler told Sky. “So I’m really pleased to keep a calm head and work through it, back myself to come good at the end and start to target certain bowlers and at certain ends with a shorter side on one side.”I felt like I used a lot of experience. I remember saying a while ago, if I can put both parts of my game together then I think I’ll be getting in a really good place with my T20 batting: I’ve had a lot of experience batting in the middle and to put that together with the top, I can back myself to catch up at certain times and [rely on] the death hitting of my game which is a strength.”His near-perfect night even extended into the field: in the first over of Sri Lanka’s chase he effected the run-out of Nissanka, whipping the bails off after Morgan’s clean throw; in the 18th, his direct hit left Shanaka short of his ground to effectively seal England’s successful defence. “The run-out was the best feeling on the field today,” he smiled after.The brevity of T20 World Cups means that certain factors can have a huge impact on outcomes: a streak of consecutive toss wins, or several tight decisions going in a team’s favour. Equally, it allows a purple patch of career-best form by one of the world’s best players to lift a team to a trophy: England might be two nights of Buttler brilliance away from the World Cup.

MatériaMais Notícias

Ideia surgida no ano passado, a Liga de Clubes recebeu uma nova proposta para iniciar operações. De acordo com o ‘Ge.com’, a LiveMode e a 1190 apresentaram um projeto de estruturação da Liga, que passaria a representar os clubes da Série A em negociações comerciais, como direitos de transmissão e patrocínios para o Brasileirão.

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As empresas propuseram a entrada de um sócio, que aportaria inicialmente 800 milhões de dólares (R$ 4,2 bilhões) em troca de 20% da Liga, em um período de 50 anos. Ainda segundo o veículo, o repasse aos clubes seria feito em três parcelas anuais. Se concretizado, o processo terá início a partir de 2025, visto que a Globo detém os direitos até 2024.

Para evitar a perda da parceria, as empresas sugeriram aos clubes que, caso apareça uma nova oferta pela compra dos direitos nesse período de 50 anos, a Live Mode e a 1190 teriam direito de cobrir a proposta. A LiveMode foi fundada por ex-proprietários do extinto canal Esporte Interativo, enquanto a 1190 é do argentino Hernan Donnari, ex-VP da Fox Sports, e do chileno David Belmar, ex-CEO da TVN.

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O nome do investidor é mantido em sigilo. O grupo quer primeiro a assinatura do acordo para depois passar mais detalhes sobre a origem do dinheiro e garantias.

The last few years have been nothing short of remarkable for Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys have gone from midtable in League One to just about holding their own in the Premier League, and while there is a long way to go, Kieran McKenna could just work another miracle for the third season on the bounce.

However, to do that, he will need his star players to give that little bit more, as after nine games, the club are still without their first win and currently sit on just four points with a goal difference of negative 11.

There have been some standout performers, such as Liam Delap, but others, like summer signings Omari Hutchinson and Sammie Szmodics, haven’t quite hit the ground running and are being outperformed by a former Ipswich star released for nothing in the summer.

Hutchinson and Szmodics' form this season

So, before we get to the player in question, let’s look at the underwhelming output from Hutchinson and Szmodics so far this season.

Now, before the pitchforks come out, we aren’t saying that the pair have been terrible so far, but given the money they cost and the form they showed last year, it would be fair to say that they haven’t exactly lit the Premier League up thus far.

For example, the club opted to spend up to £11m on the Irish international following his unreal campaign with Blackburn Rovers last year in which he racked up 33 goals and four assists in 48 games, but so far this season, he’s scored just twice in nine games.

Hutchinson and Szmodics’ recent form

23/24

Hutchinson

Szmodics

Appearances

50

48

Goals

11

33

Assists

6

4

Goal Involvements per Match

0.34

0.77

23/24

Hutchinson

Szmodics

Appearances

9

9

Goals

0

2

Assists

1

0

Goal Involvements per Match

0.11

0.22

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Likewise, the former Chelsea prospect made his move to Portman Road permanent for £20m in the summer after scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in 50 appearances last season, but in nine games this year, he has produced just a single assist, which is a lower return than one of his former teammates who left East Anglia in the summer.

Kayden Jackson's form this season

The former Ipswich star in question is Kayden Jackson, who joined Paul Hurst’s Tractor Boys in the summer of 2018 for around £1m from Accrington Stanley.

It was a record sale for the League Two champions as, during the 17/18 campaign, the Bradford-born poacher racked up a sensational haul of 15 goals and 16 assists in just 49 appearances, equating to an average goal involvement every 1.58 games.

Unfortunately, the Englishman could not maintain that sort of form in the Championship, and he ended his debut campaign with a paltry tally of four goals and two assists in 38 games as the club suffered relegation to the third tier.

However, over the next few years, and especially with the arrival of McKenna, Jackson’s fortunes would start to improve, and by the time he left for Derby County this summer, he was the longest-serving player at the club and had a reasonable record of 28 goals and 23 assists in 199 appearances, of which 99 were from the bench.

He might not have made the jump up to the Premier League with his former teammates, but the 30-year-old is enjoying another promising season in the Championship this year, already scoring three goals and providing two assists in 14 games, meaning he is outperforming Szmodics and Hutchinson as things stand.

Ultimately, while his start to life at Portman Road was far from ideal, Jackson eventually proved to be a useful striker for the club, and we’re sure the Ipswich faithful are happy to see him kicking on at Derby this season.

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أعلنت رابطة الليجا، مواعيد مباريات الجولة التاسعة والعشرين الدوري الإسباني لموسم 2024-2025، بما في ذلك مواجهتي برشلونة وريال مدريد.

ويحتل ريال مدريد المركز الثاني في الترتيب العام للدوري الإسباني برصيد 57 نقطة، بينما يحل برشلونة في المركز الأول برصيد 57 نقطة، مع مباراة إضافية.

يذكر أن برشلونة سيخوض اللقاء المؤجل عن منافسات الجولة 27 أمام أوساسونا، يوم 27 مارس الحالي على ملعب “مونتجويك الأولمبي”.

اقرأ أيضاً.. تقارير: ريال مدريد يعمل على تمديد عقد لاعبه

ويلتقي برشلونة في تلك الجولة مع نظيره جيرونا، أما ريال مدريد سيواجه ليجانيس.

بينما سيحل أتلتيكو مدريد ضيفاً على خصمه إسبانيول على ملعب ” كورنيا إل برات”، السبت الموافق 29 مارس. موعد مباراة ريال مدريد وليجانيس في الدوري الإسباني

تقام المباراة يوم السبت الموافق 29 مارس، على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الساعة الحادية عشر مساءً بتوقيت المملكة العربية السعودية. موعد مباراة برشلونة وجيرونا في الدوري الإسباني

تقام المباراة يوم الأحد الموافق 30 مارس، على ملعب “مونتجويك الأولمبي” في تمام الساعة الخامسة والربع مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، الساعة السادسة والربع مساءً بتوقيت المملكة العربية السعودية.

MODIFICACIÓN | Cambia el siguiente horario de la jornada 29 de #LALIGAEASPORTS:

📌 El partido #AthleticOsasuna se disputará el domingo 30 de marzo a las 18.30h. pic.twitter.com/i5V6S1Z1f9 — LALIGA (@LaLiga) March 20, 2025

Former Yorkshire player determined that change will be real and not ‘box-ticking’ or ‘tokenism’

Valkerie Baynes16-Nov-2021As a 15-year-old playing local club cricket, Azeem Rafiq was pinned down in a car and had red wine poured down his throat.Soon after arriving at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, he and other players from Asian backgrounds were subjected to racist treatment and offensive language such as being told to “sit over there near the toilets” and the repeated use of the slur “P**i”.In a powerful account of those experiences while giving evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee hearing into Yorkshire’s racism scandal, Rafiq said he lost his career to racism.Amid fruitless attempts to raise concerns over his treatment through official channels, Rafiq has previously revealed that he could have lost his life.Related

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Live Blog – Parliamentary inquiry into Yorkshire racism investigation

Now that the game has been forced to listen, Rafiq is determined that it continues to do so before making real and meaningful change rather than “box-ticking” and gestures which amount to little more than “tokenism”.”All I wanted to do was play cricket and play cricket for England and live my dream and live my family’s dream,” Rafiq told the hearing. “Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes I do.”Hopefully in five years time we’re going to see a big change and I can look back at it that I did something that is far bigger than any runs I got or any wickets I got. But it’s horrible, it hurts.”Rafiq’s appearance at the hearing followed the botched handling of an inquiry set up by Yorkshire into his allegations of institutional racism while he was a player at the club during two stints between 2008 and 2018. The investigation upheld seven of 43 allegations made by Rafiq but the club insisted that no disciplinary action against its employees, players or executives was warranted. Among its most controversial findings, the investigating panel dismissed Gary Ballance’s use of the term “P**i” towards Rafiq as “banter” between friends.As the crisis deepened, a number of major sponsors abandoned the club and Headingley was suspended from hosting major fixtures as some leading figures at Yorkshire resigned. Lord Kamlesh Patel, who took over as club chairman earlier this month, praised Rafiq’s courage as a whistleblower and announced the establishment of an independent hotline for victims of discrimination to come forward.Other clubs followed by issuing statements committing to zero tolerance on racism and inviting players past and present to raise any complaints. Other players have already come forward in the media, including two former players at Essex, where John Faragher resigned as chair last week following an allegation of racist language used at a board meeting in 2017.Rafiq told the hearing he had received messages from people connected with at least three other counties to talk about their experiences and he encouraged widespread use of hotlines similar to the one announced by Lord Patel to fully expose the problem within the sport.”There’s a quick rush to move forward,” Rafiq said. “I think before we move forward, the game needs to listen to a lot of people who have suffered a lot of abuse up and down the country.”I can’t even imagine as a parent, hearing me speak now, why I would ever want my kids to go anywhere near the game… this is where it’s for the ECB and the counties to show that they can actually use this as an opportunity for change.”Azeem Rafiq bowls for Yorkshire during T20 finals day in 2016•Getty Images

Rafiq was asked to address suggestions he had been a “heavy drinker” while at Yorkshire.”I’ve been clear from the outset, I wasn’t perfect,” he said. “There’s things I did I felt I had to do to fit in and try and achieve my dreams and I’m not proud of them, it’s something I deeply regret but it has no relation to racism.”I should have never, ever been treated the way I was treated. When I spoke I should have been listened to. Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the game as a whole really has a problem listening to the victim. There is no two sides to a story when it comes to racism.”Rafiq then detailed being forced to drink alcohol as a young, Muslim teenager while still playing club cricket.”The first instance of drinking, I actually got pinned down at my local cricket club and red wine got poured down my throat,” he said. “The player played for Yorkshire, played for Hampshire.”I didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt like I had to do that to fit in. I regret that massively, but it has no bearing on the things that I was called.”Rafiq had also accused Yorkshire of failing to provide support when his son was stillborn shortly before he left the club for the second time, in 2018. Asked on Tuesday why it had taken a couple of years for him to speak out, Rafiq almost broke down as he gave an emotional account of the toll his experiences had taken on him and his family.”When I left I had four or five months left on my contract,” Rafiq said. “I was encouraged to sign a confidentiality agreement and take a sum of money, which I refused, which at that time would have been a lot of money for me. I knew my wife was struggling, I knew I was struggling, there was no way mentally I could have even considered putting myself through this trauma. I left the country, I actually went to Pakistan and I never wanted to come back.”Until right at the end, I was in complete denial as to what was going on. It was only around the back end of 2017 when I lost my son that I went, you know what, hold on a minute, I’ve seen other players have family tragedies and get support beyond measure. I’ve just carried my son from the hospital to the graveyard and how I’m getting treated here is not right.”To me, it became very clear that even myself, I’d been looking the other way and there’s a real problem here, at not just Yorkshire, throughout the country and I’m going to be the one that speaks about this.”And Rafiq said that speaking out had continued to pose challenges for family life, including his wife.”We’ve got two young kids and they’ve not had a dad really because all I’ve been worried about is Yorkshire going out to discredit me and how I’m going to deal with it,” he said. “Dealing with lawyers, dealing with press. [It’s been] challenging but I just hope today provides some sort of closure and I can treat her for what she deserves.”

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