The off-spinner, who was not registered to play first-team cricket when he appeared in a group match two weeks ago, is described as 'absolutely gutted' about his unwitting part in the postponement of Monday's quarter-final at Durham.

The affair could cost Yorkshire a possible place in the £2.5m Champions League if a disciplinary panel ejects them from the Twenty20 Cup this afternoon, but his coaches expect him to resume his impressive rise.

"I think he'll be fine once the furore dies down," said director of cricket Martyn Moxon of the Pakistan-born, Barnsley-raised player, who was belatedly found not to possess a UK passport – Yorkshire pulled the youngster out a of a second XI match on Tuesday to shield him from press interest.

"No one blames Azeem. There is no blame attached to him whatsoever.

"I've spoken to him a few times, and he was training at Headingley (on Tuesday). He's disappointed, a bit upset about it all, but it was no fault of his."

Officials at Barnsley Cricket Club, where Rafiq started playing at the age of 11, also feel that the former England Under-15 captain has the character and talent to ensure that he will soon be known for his exploits on the field rather than his association with Yorkshire's embarrassing oversight.

"As far as we are concerned, there is no reason for him to feel upset," said the club's development officer David Clayton. "We were totally surprised by what happened – you just expect these things to run smoothly. Everyone was so proud of him when he made his debut. We were over the moon, because he is so well-liked here.

"He's absolutely gutted. He just wants to play cricket. He is obsessed by cricket, so driven. He loves the game. I offered him a game with our Under-17s (last night) and he said he'd better not – that was the first time I've ever seen him turn down a game.

"I remember when he first moved over here with his family. He was so keen. He practised every night. If there was no one to practise with, he would practise on his own.

"Even though he's been playing with the Yorkshire Academy for the last two seasons, he's still down here all the time.

"You could tell he was good right from the start – he's the best I've seen at that age. He's also a top lad. I'm sure he'll bounce back from this."

Rafiq has been playing adult cricket for Barnsley since he was 13; at all levels below county first-team, the regulations are such that his lack of a British passport is not an issue. Technically, though, he counts as an overseas player for Yorkshire's senior XI.

Another foreign-born, English-raised player could make his debut for the county in the LV Championship at Kent tomorrow: with Craig White and Chris Taylor injured, Gary Ballance, 18, is in the 12-man squad and looks likely to bat in the middle-order.

Born in Zimbabwe but schooled over here – he has just completed his A-Levels – the left-hander was signed from Derbyshire at the end of last season. He has a UK passport. "Yes, we've checked it," confirmed Moxon wearily.

Yorkshire's official overseas player, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, is set to return for his first Championship appearance since tearing his hamstring at The Oval seven weeks ago.

Captain Darren Gough, though, misses out again with 'a few aches and pains and a niggly calf problem'.

"Darren feels that when he's coming in for his second and third spells, he's not running in as freely as he'd like," explained Moxon. "He's fine for one-day cricket, but in the Championship, it's not allowing him to bowl as he wants. We need to try to get it right.

"Obviously we'd like to have him fit, but it's no good to him or us if he can't run in properly throughout the game. You can't afford to carry a seamer in a four-day game."

With Deon Kruis also back in the 12-man squad after a six-week absence, Yorkshire are close to full-strength in the bowling department.

Tomorrow's start time has been put back to noon because of Kent's postponed Twenty20 quarter-final.