Former England batter Gary Ballance is poised to revive his international career with his native Zimbabwe, having signed a two-year contract after Yorkshire agreed to release him from his county deal two years early.
Ballance had not played for Yorkshire since September 2021 following allegations of racism from his former teammate Azeem Rafiq. The 33-year-old admitted calling Rafiq a "P***" in a lengthy statement released in November last year, saying he 'deeply regrets some of the language I used in my younger years'.
He also insisted 'no malice was intended' by his use of the slur, claiming it was 'a situation where best friends said offensive things to each other'. Rafiq and Ballance met in-person earlier this year, with Ballance offering an unreserved apology for his use of "unacceptable" and "racist" language.
