Michael Vaughan has responded to the BBC’s decision to drop him from their Ashes coverage following Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations.
The mega broadcaster made the decision earlier today after he was stood down from his BBC Radio 5 Live show earlier this month.
Rafiq claimed the former England captain said "there are too many of you lot; we need to do something about it,” during a 2009 game between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
Vaughan has denied he made the comment on several occasions and took to Instagram to voice his displeasure with being unable to commentate on The Ashes for the BBC.
"Very disappointed not to be commentating for TMS on the Ashes and will miss working with great colleagues & friends, but looking forward to being behind the mic for Fox Cricket in Australia.
"The issues facing cricket are bigger than any individual case and I want to be part of the solution, listening, educating myself and helping to make it a more welcoming sport for all."
Following their latest decision regarding Vaughan, the BBC released a statement saying that he would also not be involved in its "wider coverage of the sport at the moment".
"While he is involved in a significant story in cricket, for editorial reasons we do not believe that it would be appropriate for Michael Vaughan to have a role in our Ashes team or wider coverage of the sport at the moment," it said.
"We require our contributors to talk about relevant topics and his involvement in the Yorkshire story represents a conflict of interest."
Former Pakistan bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and England leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who has played for Yorkshire since 2006, also said they heard the comment.
Last week Rafiq attended the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee hearing last week, where he eloquently recalled the harrowing experiences during his time playing for Yorkshire Cricket Club.
Elaborating on the Vaughan allegations, the spin bowler said: "I think it's important on Michael [Vaughan] that we don't make it all about Michael.
“It was a long time ago, Michael might not remember it as I said about earlier because it doesn't mean anything. But three of us remember it."
Also in the hearing, Rafiq explained how he had alcohol poured down his throat at Yorkshire, despite being a practicing muslim.
Since Rafiq spoke out about his experiences, Yorkshire County Cricket Club have announced 36 people have already contacted their whistleblower hotline.
In the wake of the scandal the county has set up an independent hotline under the guidance of new chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel.
A commission looking into racism and other forms of discrimination in cricket has been ‘inundated’ with responses two weeks on from officially opening up at the beginning of November.
Following its opening a fortnight ago the chair of the commission Cindy Butts has revealed the investigation has received over 2000 responses, as people across the country have come forward to share their discriminative experiences within the game.
