Yorkshire County Cricket Club: Who is Lord Kamlesh Patel?

Lord Kamlesh Patel will be replacing Roger Hutton Credit: Yorkshire Cricket Club

Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford has been appointed as chair and director of the Club in the wake of Azeem Rafiq's allegations.

It follows Roger Hutton's resignation on Friday (05 November) morning.

The club said that Hanif Malik OBE and Stephen Willis had also left the board, with Neil Hartley to follow once Lord Patel's transition to chair had ended.

Who is Lord Patel of Bradford?

Lord Patel is chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board's South Asian advisory group and was previously a board member at the governing body.

He is a member of the House of Lords and was made a life peer in 2006 with the title Baron Patel of Bradford, serving as a minister in Gordon Brown’s government.

In March 2018, Lord Patel was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care as the Chair of Social Work England. 

He was made an OBE in 1999 and named Yorkshireman of the year by the Yorkshire Society in 2016.

He is Chair of the India Business Group, along with of a number of not for profit organisations working in the health, education, social care and criminal justice sectors.

He became the first British Asian director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, stepping down last year in 2020.

Lord Patel is Chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board's South Asian advisory group.

Speaking of his new role, Lord Patel said:

He added: "Yorkshire is lucky to have a vast talent pool of cricketers, and passionate supporters, from all of our communities and we must re-engage with everyone to make a better Yorkshire County Cricket Club for everyone."

It comes as Yorkshire was stripped of hosting international and major fixes, with the ECB saying the Club's "handling of the issues raised by Azeem Rafiq is wholly unacceptable and is causing serious damage to the reputation of the game".

Lord Patel, will speak at a press conference later today (08 November), said he is ready for the work that awaits him.