Danish Kaneria Accuses Shahid Afridi of Discrimination, Says Former Pakistan Captain Has Been ‘Against Him From Beginning’
Danish Kaneria has accused Shahid Afridi of mistreatment and discrimination. Kaneria has also alleged that Afridi plotted against him from the beginning and blamed the all-rounder for his short-lived white-ball career. Kaneria has been very vocal about the discrimination and wrong he suffered for being a Hindu in the Pakistan dressing room.
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has accused Shahid Afridi of mistreatment as well as of discrimination. Kaneria has also alleged that Afridi plotted against him from the beginning and blamed the all-rounder for his short-lived white-ball career. Kaneria has been very vocal about the discrimination and wrong he suffered for being a Hindu in the Pakistan dressing room ever since Shoaib Akhtar in a TV show revealed that the national team mistreated Kaneria for being a Hindu. Most recently, Kaneria blamed Afridi and said that legendary all-rounder and former Pakistan skipper has been against him “from the beginning.” Shahid Afridi Speaks Out on Kashmir Again, Says ‘It Does Not Take a Religious Belief to Feel the Agony of Kashmiris’.
“Shahid Afridi had been against me since the beginning. He kept me out of the one-day side. When we used to play together for the same department, he used to keep me on the bench and didn’t let me play the one-day tournament. I only played 16 ODIs in my 10-year career as I used to get only two or three matches every year,” Kaneria told Sports Tak. Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal Involved in Ugly Twitter War Over Leg-Spinner’s Allegedly Failed Sledging of Brian Lara During 2006 Pakistan vs West Indies Test Match.
Kaneria also recounted his role in 2009 spot-fixing scandal in English County Cricket and said that he regretted his decision (of asking former Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield to concede 12 runs in an over during a One-Day match against Durham) wand was guilty of why he did. “I made a mistake and I pleaded guilty. I have paid for the mistake,” Kaneria added. “My international career got ruined but now, at least for humanity’s sake, I ask to lift up the restrictions on me so that I could take the art of leg-spin forward. I regret it but now I want to do something that people could remember always,”
Kaneria also mentioned how the ban has rendered him jobless and without a livelihood. “I regret it a lot. The regret is that had I informed the authorities that time then today this would not be happening.” He claimed that he has repeatedly called on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for help and for a job but none have responded. Kaneria currently runs a YouTube channel and is dependent on his elder brother to run his family.
“I do not have a job. I used to go on news shows earlier, but the big Pakistan news channels have not paid my dues. I can only request them to pay. Now the channels have gone against me. So, now I have started my new YouTube channel. I do not have a team as of now. My elder brother has been taking care of family and finances,” he said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 16, 2020 03:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).