Pakistan Cricket Board dismisses Danish Kaneria's allegation of religious discrimination

After former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria had accused cricket officials in Pakistan for discriminating against him on the basis of religion, PCB vehemently denied those charges by expressing their disappointment.

PTI reported PCB’s media director Amjad Hussain Bhatti explaining that the 35-year old's case was handled according to standard procedure. Kaneria was banned by ECB in June 2012 following an indictment on spot-fixing during a Pro40 match, three years earlier.

Bhatti asserted, “We strongly condemn the anti PCB statement of Kaneria. We are very disappointed at Kaneria’s statement. Because, we didn’t ban him he was banned by the England and Wales Cricket Board in the UK.”

Maintaining that they handled the case without any bias, he added, “And he was given all opportunity to appeal against the life ban. Being a member of the ICC the PCB is obliged to implement the decision of the ECB as well.”

Kaneria had claimed, “I have to use the word discrimination again and again because of the treatment meted out to me by the PCB. People of Pakistan have given me a lot of love but it is because of those few people in the PCB that I feel that I am being punished for being a player from the minority community in Pakistan.”

Recollecting the 10-year international career that the spin bowler had, Bhatti noted, “Kaneria must not forget that he played 61 Tests and 18 One Day Internationals for Pakistan as a Hindu and things changed only after he was banned.”

In response to Kaneria’s argument that Mohammad Amir was reintegrated into national colors after a similar spot-fixing scandal, Bhatti insisted that the left-arm pacer had served his rehabilitation program.

He believed, “I say this because Amir has not only served his sentence but he admitted his mistake and completed his rehabilitation program and only then he was allowed to represent Pakistan and play domestic cricket.”

Even though his plea was turned down on multiple occasions by the UK legal system, Kaneria seems to be in no mood to back away.