Danish Kaneria Responds To Allegations Of Mistreatment In Pakistan Team Due To Religion
Former Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar has raised a number of eyebrows with his revelation regarding his former teammate Danish Kaneria. Akhtar revealed that Danish Kaneria was treated unfairly by his Pakistani teammates because he was a Hindu. Danish Kaneria was only the second Hindu player after Anil Dalpat to represent Pakistan in international cricket.
While speaking during a chat show, Akhtar made it clear that players belonging to minority communities were not treated well in the dressing room. In fact, he said that Kaneria’s Pakistani teammate even barred him from picking up food from the same table as others because of his faith.
“Captain would raise eyebrows about him eating with us or taking the food from the same table. I told him that you could be the captain but your conduct is despicable. This guy (Kaneria) is chalking up so many wickets to win matches for us and you’re treating him like this,” Shoaib Akhtar spoke on a cricket show titled ‘Game on Hai’.
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Not only that, Akhtar also claimed that Danish Kaneria never got any credit for his exceptional performances. The legendary pacer hailed the ex-spinner for his performances, pointing out his stunning performance against England in 2005 that helped Pakistan win the series.
“I used to get livid when anyone was discriminated on the basis of region or religion. A Hindu born in Pakistan is entitled to represent his country. When that Hindu (Kaneria) won us the Test series against England (in 2005), I chided my team-mates for mistreating him,” Akhtar said.
Danish Kaneria responds:
Just hours after Shoaib Akhtar’s words spread like a wild fire all over the internet, Danish Kaneria responded to the news too. And the former spinner said that Akhtar was right about how he was treated by his former Pakistan teammates. Danish Kaneria also said that he would reveal the names of the players who mistreated him because of his religion.
“Shoaib (Akhtar) has been a legend of the game. His words are also as blunt as his bowling. When I was playing I did not have the courage to speak on these matters but after Shoaib bhai’s comments, I do. He has always supported me and also Inzy bhai (Inzaman-ul-Haq), Mohammad Yusuf and Younis bhai,” he told PTI.
“Those who did not support me, I will make their names public soon. Having said that, I feel fortunate and honoured that I got to play for Pakistan,” added Kaneria.
Danish Kaneria, meanwhile, is fourth on the list of bowlers with most Test wickets for Pakistan, behind only fast bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Imran Khan. He picked up 261 wickets in 62 Tests. In 2012, he was suspended from cricket due to match-fixing allegations.
