Azeem Rafiq

" It hurts me as a person, as a cricket fan and it's a sad situation for the sport. "

Cricketer Azeem Rafiq 's allegations of racism during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club - and The Club 's response to it - have sparked a discussion about race and The Treatment of South Asians in cricket.

Yorkshire's investigation found Azeem had been a victim of " racial harassment and bullying" at The Club .

But according to reports, The Club said a racist term about Azeem's Pakistani heritage that had been used was " friendly and good-natured banter".

" It will put a lot of young cricketers off from pursuing their dreams, " says 23-year-old Kamran Ul-Haq.

" I don't think you can go around and use the P-word and claim it is friendly banter, " says Kamran, a British-Pakistani who's played cricket for most of his life.

" Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. "

The Club has been approached for comment by Bbc Sport . It's previously said its decision to not take any disciplinary action against anyone in The Club doesn't mean it can't learn from The Investigation .

The British-Pakistani, from Nottingham, has played cricket for most of his life and is currently A Level 2 umpire.

He says Azeem's claims are " relatable" and racism and discrimination is " well hidden" in grassroots cricket across the country.

" It's quite discreet and hidden, " he says.

" If players were of equal ability, the white players would get chosen over the Asians. "

Kamran says opposition players have sometimes made " certain noises and gestures" towards fellow Asian team-mates on The Pitch .

" That is a problem that needs stamping out, " he says.

" And you look at some of the online hate Azeem Rafiq has been getting - it shows how much society needs to change. "

Azeem has revealed he's still receiving abuse for speaking out about What Happened to him at Yorkshire.

Like Kamran, Fiyza Awan doesn't consider racist language banter " at all".

She is " particularly sensitive to the P-word" because of verbal abuse her dad faced while Growing Up in Sheffield.

" I grew up with him telling those stories, so it feels personal and offensive, " she says.

For her, Azeem's experience is " shocking and a disappointment, but not much of a surprise".

As a British-Pakistani woman, Fiyza, 31, says she's always been aware of undertones and microaggressions, not just in sport but society more widely.

She's a Chartered Accountant and has worked to improve diversity and inclusion in her industry.

Fiyza feels The World has moved on from the generation of physical and overt verbal racist assaults, but that there's " deeply embedded racism throughout society".

" It Comes in the form of microaggressions, a lack of diversity and inclusion. There's a lot of bias and barriers against young South Asians in the workplace. "

Issa and Sufyaan are young cricketers in Bradford who hope Azeem's claims will bring about change.

" There are kids Coming Through who have potential and want to be like Azeem Rafiq , " 16-year-old Issa told BBC Look North .

He feels people will be put off trying out the sport because of the possibility of racist comments.

He wants Yorkshire County Cricket Club to work to " stop it and not encourage it, like they have done so far".

17-year-old Sufyaan says Yorkshire is one of The Most diverse places in the country, so it's " disgusting to see" what Azeem has been going through.

" A lot of ethnic minority kids will not want to join and play because they'll get abused, " he says.

To rebuild trust and make people realise slurs are not banter, he feels there need to be stricter policies.

" Then people will realise it's not OK to do this, and more people will want to join. Otherwise it's a loss of talent. "

Kamran thinks clubs need to be taught How To combat racism and discrimination - so that victims can feel comfortable to report issues.

" Until we acknowledge there's a problem, people will push it under the carpet. "

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Source of news: bbc.com