'There are probably more stories people haven't heard of' - Moeen Ali amidst Azeem Rafiq racism row

England all-rounder Moeen Ali stated that he would not be too surprised if more stories like that of Azeem Rafiq come out in the future. He lauded Rafiq for his courage to speak up and stand against the wrongs done to him during his time at Yorkshire Club, which admitted Rafiq was a victim of racial harassment.

Moeen admitted he never had such an experience, but added that the language used and treatment given to Rafiq was poor and certainly “not banter”. He added that Rafiq’s bravery might pave way for others to open up in the future as “sometimes you need to have a bit of a dip to really come out”.

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised but there’s probably more stories out there that people haven’t heard of,” said Moeen ahead of his team’s T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

“I won’t be surprised if more do come out but I think the fact it’s come out, it’s great because going forward you can’t just come into the game or any sort of sport or walk of life, people have to think about what they can or can’t say in terms of discriminating against people and knowing what people feel and go through.

“Azeem’s talked a lot about his mental health and I think that’s really, really important. I think the most important thing that people who do suffer with mental health are really being looked after in this situation.

“I think people that probably didn’t feel like they could speak previously, what Azeem has done he is not doing it for any personal gain, I think he wants change and that’s what he’s pushing for.

“Sometimes you need to have a bit of a dip to really come out and that’s from Yorkshire’s point of view as well. As a whole cricket community, culture, there is going to be big changes. I know one thing the ECB have always [done] since I’ve been playing is to try and really push those boundaries and open up those avenues for everybody, really.”

Moeen reckoned England team’s diversity can help accelerate that growth. “A lot of people do think the game does need change, and certain areas that we’ve been pushing, coming from an England point of view,” he said.

“If you look at our team we’ve got a lot of diversity and everyone gets on well, we’ve been pushing it for a while now and hopefully for the future it’ll be good.”