Pakistan’s Hindu cricketer Danish Kaneria, who has been a subject of social media abuse from various quarters, including Islamists in Pakistan and radicals in India, raised several key points during the interview. Danish Kaneria vehemently denied any involvement in match-fixing and asserted that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had not banned him. Instead, he was banned by the England Cricket Board (ECB) without concrete evidence or a proper investigation, solely based on assumptions. He confessed to introducing Anu Bhatt to an England player but pointed out that Bhatt was already known to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and other cricketers.
Kaneria claimed that he confessed to match fixing charges under pressure due to death threats, illegal freezing of his bank accounts, and the sealing of his assets, all of which left him with no choice for the sake of his family’s survival.
“I confessed because I was receiving threats, my bank accounts were frozen, everything was sealed illegally, and I had no choice but to accept their terms for the sake of my family’s survival. Yet, they still forced me to shoulder the blame, which was unjust”, he said.
He further lamented the lack of support from Pakistan cricket board, hinting because he practises ‘Hindu’ religion.
Kaneria also said that players like Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir, who were found guilty of match fixing and imprisoned, have since been released and reinstated in the team.
In contrast, despite being innocent, he continues to bear the unjust stigma of being a banned cricketer.
Notably, Kaneria has accused Pakistani cricketers of religious discrimination against him and of attempts to convert him to Islam.
He also praised India, current Indian PM Narendra Modi, and emphasised his commitment to Sanatan Dharma.
In another interview on October 25 with AAJ Tak, Danish Kaneria said that he is a staunch Sanatani and he holds Dharma above all.
Kaneria claimed that it was former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi who had tried to convert him to Islam.
Making comments on his difficult time in the Pakistan dressing room, Kaneria said that only Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar were the ones who supported him when he was wearing the green shirt.
Kaneria also emphasised that his on-field performances remained consistent, and his religious beliefs were the primary cause of discrimination he faced. He praised India for providing equal opportunities to all cricketers.
Kaneria said, “First of all, for me, my faith in Sanatan Dharma is above everything. Nothing is above the Sanatan Dharma. Bhagwan Ram is the inspiration of my life. Bhagwan Ram says to raise your voice to uphold the Sanatan Dharma every time. I am doing nothing wrong. I am telling just those things which are happening with people here in Pakistan, and I will keep talking about those things. I will continue to point out the wrongdoings taking place here. There are so many cases which go unreported, and these things are happening wide open in front of everybody.”
Danish Kaneria added, “I am a Sanatani. My Dharma teaches me to raise my voice for the Hindu Hindu community. I will like it more if the Indian media raises a voice for this cause, because a wrong must clearly be called a wrong.”
Explaining more about how he was implicated in a spot-fixing case, Kaneria said, “Many big players in the Pakistani team asked me to convert to Islam, Shahid Afridi was the main one among those players. I was wrongfully trapped in a false allegation of spot-fixing. Some people are also talking about me accepting those allegations after 8 years. I should make it clear now in front of everyone. The only thing I accepted was that through Mervyn Westfield, I was introduced to a bookie named Anu Bhat when I was playing county cricket alongside him in an English county team.”
Detailing more on this religious discrimination, Danish Kaneria said, “Do you know a Hindu in the history of Pakistan who rose to higher posts or became the greatest of all in any field ever? India is the only country that has given opportunities to people from all backgrounds”.
Danish Kaneria also accused the Pakistani cricketers of abusing Hindu deities. “Whatever I have faced in the Pakistani Cricket Team is horrific. They hurled religious abuses at me. They abused my deities. All I was thinking was that I should perform better. I would think that only my performance can be the key to ensuring a place in the team. There were also so many players who were in the team despite not performing. On the other hand, people in India are educated, and cultured. They respect each other. On the other hand, Pakistani cricketers need to learn the lesson of ‘live and let others live too’.”
“If I had agreed to change my religion, I would have captained Pakistan and broken all the records. There would have been no problems for me,” he added.
It is to be noted that, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar in a chat show, claiming that Danish Kaneria was treated unfairly by his Pakistani teammates because he was a Hindu.
Shoaib Akhtar said that Kaneria’s Pakistani teammate even barred him from picking up food from the same table as others because of his faith.
Danish Kaneria in his Test career has taken 261 wickets, with best figures of 7/77 in an innings and best match figures of 12/94. He claimed 15 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls during his career. In theODI format, Kaneria played 18 matches, taking a total of 15 wickets.
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