Anushka Sharma’s brother Karnesh Ssharma’s production house Clean Slate Filmz has collaborated with Yorkshire County Cricket Club in Leeds, England as per the latest report. The production house has been announced as their principal partner and it will also be the title sponsor at Yorkshire’s Headingley ground, reported Pinkvilla. According to the publication, via Sky Sports, the cricket stadium will be renamed Clean Slate Headingley.
However, this comes as a controversial move, as last year, the cricket club was involved in a racism scandal. For the uninitiated, in 2020, cricketer Azeem Rafiq had for the first time on record, talked about racism. He opened up on the same again and said that institutional racism is “at its peak” and worse than it’s ever been. Following that, in September 2022, an independent law firm Squire Patton Boggs was hired as Yorkshire officially launched an investigation. In December that year, Rafiq had filed a legal complaint against Yorkshire for direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race.
Yorkshire had said that the club is taking the allegations “extremely seriously”. However, in February 2021, reports were delayed and no timeline was given as to when the investigation will be completed. Rafiq’s lawyer Asma Iqbal had claimed that by delaying, Yorkshire risks “legitimising racism”.
About his partnership, Karnesh said, as reported by Pinkvilla, “We’re incredibly proud to partner with Yorkshire and to be the first Indian company to have their name prominently featured within a UK sports ground. Clean Slate puts inclusivity and diversity at the fore of its entertainment roster, and we truly believe that our entertainment vision and values align with that of Yorkshire County Cricket Club moving forward.”
He added, “Our ambition is to help make the Headingley venue a beacon for equality and inclusivity in Yorkshire and the sport in general. We are looking forward to a great partnership with the club.”
Meanwhile, Anushka Sharma, who was also a part of the production house, stepped away last month as she wanted tp focus on acting.
