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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

England's World T20 plans could be plunged into chaos by Yorkshire racism tribunal

England 's T20 World Cup preparation could reportedly be affected by the Yorkshire racism tribunal, which is set to be held in October.

The Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) is hearing the case and the Telegraph report that several England stars 'could be summoned to give evidence' at the tribunal and that the CDC 'has the right to require anyone subject to its jurisdiction to attend'.

Adil Rashid is expected to be among those asked to give evidence, having corroborated Azeem Rafiq 's claim that Michael Vaughan said there were "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it" to a group of Asian players at Yorkshire.

In a statement released to The Cricketer, Rashid said: "I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq's recollection of Michael Vaughan's comments to a group of us Asian players."

Former Pakistan international Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has also corroborated Rafiq's allegation, while Ajmal Shahzad said he had not heard the comment in question. Vaughan has repeatedly denied making the comment.

If Rashid or any of his England teammates are asked to give evidence in person, they would be forced to miss the build-up to the T20 World Cup, with England's campaign set to get underway on October 22 against Afghanistan following a T20I series against Australia.

Adil Rashid is expected to be asked to give evidence, having corroborated a claim from Azeem Rafiq about a racist comment made by Michael Vaughan (Ben Hoskins - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

Players could be permitted to give evidence remotely, but the tribunal would still cast a shadow over England's preparation. Yorkshire were charged by the ECB for bringing the game into disrepute in June, along with seven individuals.

Former Yorkshire coach and captain Andrew Gale is one of those who has been charged and he broke his silence in June, refusing to attend his disciplinary hearing and accusing the ECB of a "witch-hunt".

In a lengthy statement, Gale categorically denied Rafiq's allegations, saying: "I will always be unhappy with how my career ended but I refuse to have my life defined by unsubstantiated allegations by an embittered former colleague and by a YCCC/ECB witch hunt."

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