7 Non-Muslim Cricketers Who Represented Pakistan

Controversies and Pakistan cricket go very much hand in hand. Recently, Pakistan celebrated the comeback of Test cricket to their nation post a ten-year hiatus. Days after that, it became overshadowed when former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar revealed the mistreatment dished out on his teammate Danish Kaneria because of his Hindu faith.

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Former Pakistan cricketers have aligned themselves with each other against Akhtar and Kaneria for bringing this truth into the light. The 39-year old leg-spinner has requested for help from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the nation’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to drag him out of this mess. The former has distanced itself from this fiasco saying that the allegations have been called by players who are no longer contracted to the board. Imran Khan is yet to respond on the row.

Meanwhile, we take a look at seven non-muslim cricketers who played for Pakistan:

Danish Kaneria:

One of Pakistan’s mainstay spinners in the modern-era, Danish Kaneria is a Hindu and an ethnic Gujarati. Predominantly a red-ball bowler, the 39-year old featured in 61 Tests for his national side, taking 261 wickets. His name has surfaced in the recent news, having been ill-treated for pledging his faith to Hindu religion.

However, throughout his career, Kaneria hasn’t remained controversy-free. He was banned by the England Cricket Board (ECB) for life on account of indulging in spot-fixing activities in their domestic competition. Additionally, Danish Kaneria admitted to his involvement in the 2009 spot-fixing scandal that rocked Pakistan cricket. He played his last Test in 2007.

Mohammad Yousuf:

For those who may not remember Mohammad Yousuf, before changing his name, he used to be known as Yousuf Youhana. He converted from Christian to Islam in 2005 and adopted the name as Mohammad Yousuf. Amid this, the veteran was one of the most stylish and prolific batsmen that the sport had produced. In 2006, he scored 1788 runs that included nine hundreds and broke Viv Richards’ record of most test runs in a calendar year.

With 7530 runs in 90 Tests, Yousuf is the fourth-highest run-getter for his nation. He also represented Pakistan in 288 ODIs, having scored 9720 runs at 41.71. Post a disastrous tour of Australia in 2009-10; the PCB sacked him as the captain of the side. The veteran made his return in 2010; however, he couldn’t create the desired impact. The 45-year old played his last Test in 2010 against England at Lord’s.

Anil Dalpat:

At the retirement of Wasim Bari, Anil Dalpat came into the side to don the gloves behind the stumps. He was the first Hindu cricketer to play for Pakistan. On his debut against the Englishmen in Karachi in 1983-84, Dalpat is said to have kept proficiently to the mystery spin of Abdul Qadir as the home side registered a win by three wickets.

In nine Tests, he affected 25 dismissals, and his highest score of 52 came against New Zealand in Karachi in 1984-85. Anil Dalpat also played 15 ODIs and caused the same number of dismissals with a high score of 37 with the willow. Dalpat featured in 137 first-class fixtures; however, his international career couldn’t go beyond nine Tests, and 15 ODIs. He played his last international match against West Indies which was an ODI in Peshawar in 1985.

Rusi Dinshaw:

In retrospect, Rusi Dinshaw was the only Parsi cricketer ever to get the nod in the Pakistan squad. He toured India as part of the Pakistan team or the 1952-53 series; however, couldn’t find a spot in the eleven. Dinshaw was a stylish batsman and a left-arm spinner, who represented Sindh in nine games in Pakistan’s first-class circuit.

He passed away in the yar 2014, aged 86, having suffered from Schizophrenia for a long time. In his final years, Dinshaw was reduced to begging in front of the Karachi Parsi Institute at some traffic signals. Former Pakistan great Hanif Mohammad revealed that he was pretty close to him and his predicament over the years hurt him a lot.

Antao D’Souza:

Antao D’Souza was one of the few Christians to feature for Pakistan national team from 1959 to 1962. He is understood to have been born and raised in Goa post which his father migrated to Karachi at the time of independence in 1947. He was a medium pace bowler and more than a handy lower-order batsman.

D’Souza played in six Tests and took 17 wickets apart from scoring 76 runs at an average of 38. He toured England in 1962 as part of the Pakistan national team that faced annihilation by a margin of 4-0. However, his batting average of 53 during that tour remained the highest, having remained not out in five out of six innings.

Wallis Mathias:

Wallis Mathias was the first non-Muslim cricketer to play for the Pakistan national team. Mathias made his first appearance against New Zealand in Dhaka in November 1955 at the age of 20 years. He was one of the most dependable middle-order batsmen, often playing crucial knocks to steer his side out of trouble, notably making 64 and 45 against West Indies at Dacca in a low-scoring game.

Apart from being a handy middle-order batsman, Mathias was also a skilful fielder, capable of making tough chances look simple ones. He featured in 21 Tests which yielded 783 runs. In 146 first-class fixtures, Mathias mustered 7520 runs at a healthy average of 44.49. He passed away in 1994 due to a brain haemorrhage, having played his final game for Pakistan in 1962.

Duncan Sharpe:

Duncan Sharpe, an Anglo-Pakistani, featured in three Tests for Pakistan, having made his debut in 1959. Sharpe was an aggressive middle-order batsman and a very acrobatic behind the stumps. He had a promising start to his Test career, having scored 56 and 35 against Australia in Dhaka.

After playing three Tests for Pakistan, he migrated to Australia to play for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield between 1961 and 1966. In three Tests, he scored 134 runs, and in 37 first-class games, Duncan Sharpe piled on 1531 runs at 27.33.

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