Exclusive:Yorkshire's £1.75m payment to CEO's consultancy firm 'under investigation' by Cricket Regulator
The Yorkshire Post has seen correspondence between the Regulator’s investigations manager, Steve Kirby, and members confirming the probe into the county.
The payment of £1.75m from Yorkshire CCC to a company controlled by the county’s current CEO, Sanjay Patel, is “under investigation” by the Cricket Regulator, it can be revealed.
The Yorkshire Post has seen correspondence between the Regulator’s investigations manager, Steve Kirby, and members confirming the probe and saying it is “obtaining and reviewing relevant material”.
The club claimed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed to it that no investigation is required, and said it has been cooperating fully with the Regulator, which is independent.
The investigation relates to a payment of £1.75m to SMP73 Ltd in Yorkshire’s 2025 accounts for “corporate broker services in connection with the sale of Northern Superchargers Limited”.
According to Companies House, Mr Patel is the only employee of SMP73 Ltd, and holds a majority stake.
He was appointed interim CEO of Yorkshire in September 2024, before the appointment was made permanent in October 2025.
Yorkshire said the consultancy work concluded before Mr Patel’s job was made permanent.
It said the payment was due to performance related triggers in the contract with SMP73 Ltd.
The investigation has emerged after Yorkshire members contacted the regulator about the payment, with Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel saying it “is hugely significant for the sport”.
"It's a very big deal that this is happening,” the Labour MP said.
"However, it's right that this bumper payment to Sanjay Patel and the dealings surrounding the sale of the Hundred are at last being subject to proper scrutiny by the body that's in charge of integrity and discipline across cricket.
"Yorkshire cricket members and the wider sporting community have a right to know about the process that saw such an astronomical sum paid to Mr Patel.”
The Cricket Regulator was set up in 2023 after the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) reported racism, sexism, elitism and classism was "widespread and deep-rooted" in the sport.
Earlier in the summer, it investigated then England captain Ben Stokes and Surrey fast bowler Gus Atkinson over potentially breaking a curfew after their win in the first test against New Zealand.
Mr Patel was involved with setting up the Hundred when he worked for the ECB, and was part of a small group of executives who received a combined bonus of £2.1m there in 2021.
Since then, Yorkshire has received £60m from the Northern Superchargers sale. A spokesperson said the payment to SMP73 Ltd was a commission triggered by the size of this sale.
They added: “The club is in regular dialogue with the Cricket Regulator and cooperates fully with its requests for information.
“The ECB has confirmed that it has not conducted an investigation into this matter and, having reviewed the information provided by the club, has confirmed that no investigation is required.”
The Regulator has said it will not comment “on any situation - whether something is being investigated or otherwise”.