Danish Kaneria made a bold statement about his former Pakistan teammate Shahid Afridi and said that he tried to convince him to convert to Islam. Kaneria is one of the few non-muslim cricketers to have represented the Pakistan cricket team at the international level. He was the second Hindu cricketer after Anil Dalpat to play for Pakistan.
Kaneria, who claimed 261 Test wickets, revealed that he faced discrimination in the team as few players including Shahid Afridi forced him to convert to Islam. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only skipper who supported him in the side, and apart from him veteran pacer Shoaib Akhtar was the other player who had his back.
“My career was going really well. I am the fourth-highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in Tests. My career was on the right path, I was playing County cricket as well. Inzamam-ul-Haq supported me, he was the only person who supported me as captain, apart from Shoaib Akhtar also supported me. Shahid Afridi and the other players troubled me a lot, they never used to eat food with me. They used to talk with me about the conversion but my religion is everything to me. Shahid Afridi was the main guy who tried forcing me to convert to Islam, but Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only person who supported me,” Kaneria told Aaj Tak.
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The former spinner talked about the spot-fixing scandal which derailed his career and said he didn’t get any support from the PCB at that time.
“I was charged with spot-fixing during my county stint. I admitted that I only met a bookie; that was about it. But they pressured me to accept the charges. The PCB didn’t support me because I am a Hindu. They were scared that if I continued to play, I would break their records. They knew they couldn’t stop me when it comes to talent.”
Talking about the Pakistan team’s underwhelming performance in the ongoing World Cup, Kaneria said that the selection of the squad was based on friendship which is the reason behind their recent struggles.
“When the squad was announced, I was sure that this wasn’t a well-balanced team. The selections were based on friendships and personal relationships. I knew that this team would struggle in the World Cup.”
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