Tino Best shares an old incident when Hashim Amla was forced to drink

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Yorkshire Cricket Country Club (YCCC) hogged majority of the limelight recently after Azeem Rafiq accused a few Yorkshire players for mistreating non-white players. Rafiq alleged that Michael Vaughan racially abused Asian origin players during his playing days. Later, Garry Ballance’s and batter Alex Hales' name was also dragged into the controversy. Rafiq had also urged several non-white players to come forward and share their experiences of undergoing racism.

Former West Indies pace bowler Tino Best has shared one shocking incident which occurred during the time he played County cricket. Best revealed that Hashim Amla, who played county for Yorkshire, was continuously forced to drink alcohol by one of his Yorkshire teammates, despite Amla denying it several times. Notably, drinking is prohibited in Islam.

“There was a guy at Hashim Amla’s table who pressurized him for three to four hours to drink. Every minute, he’s like, ‘drink this, drinks that.’ Hashim, in a very humble way, said, ‘Sir (with a big smile) I don’t drink.’ However, this guy kept on forcing him. I then went to that guy and said: ‘Hashim is a Muslim and Muslims don’t drink. Can you please stop forcing him? It’s unbearable brother,” Tino said during his conversation with Sky Sports.

Tino further opined that drinking culture has been a big problem in county cricket and non white people and the Asian community are facing problems because of it. “The culture around cricket is drinking. That is a big problem. People shouldn’t be pressured to go into the clubhouse and drink eight or nine pints to be a part of the team. If you’re not a part of the drinking culture, if you’re not a part of the boys’ club, you’re not going to get opportunities after cricket. That is something that is hampering people of color and Asian ethnicity,” Tino added.