New Delhi: Only the second Hindu to play for the Pakistan cricket team, former leg spinner Danish Kaneria has alleged that he was a victim of relentless communal taunts from fellow players – on and off the field.
To make his point, the right-arm googly expert posted a clip on X Sunday of a Pakistan-Sri Lanka match in 2014 where a Pakistani player could be seen telling Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan that he would go “straight to heaven” if he converted to Islam.
“If you non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in life… straight to heaven,” the player is seen telling Dilshan after Pakistan lost the match to Sri Lanka by 7 wickets, also losing the bilateral ODI series 1-2.
A smiling Dilshan says something, and is met with the response: “Then be ready for the fire.”
In the caption to the video clip, Danish Kaneria implied he faced such suggestions almost every day.
The spinner – the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his wicketkeeper cousin Anil Dalpat – wrote in the caption: “Be it the dressing room, the playground or the dining table, this happened to me every day.”
Be it the dressing room, the playground or the dining table, this happened to me every day. pic.twitter.com/vdv5NpBKxq
— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) October 15, 2023
It looks like Kaneria, who played for Pakistan from 2000 to 2010, has rubbed salt into Pakistan’s already-gaping wound after Babar Azam’s team went down meekly to India on Saturday in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup.
More so, since there has been much criticism of the behaviour of the Ahmedabad crowd, particularly the booing of captain Babar Azam when he went up to speak after the toss.
Kaneria’s countrymen hit back at the former spinner, pointing out that he had been banned for life for spot-fixing in a 2009 English county cricket match. After years in denial, Kaneria admitted to that charge in 2018 and also apologised to former Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield, who was jailed after being encouraged by Kaneria to spot-fix.
There were also those who applauded Kaneria for “sticking to his roots”, “never giving up his dharma”, and being “a living example of how brave our ancestors were”.
One also spoke about Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s claim in 2019 that Kaneria faced discrimination within the team for his Hindu faith. These players apparently did not eat with Kaneria at the same table.
The spinner, who took 261 wickets in Test matches and 15 in ODIs, fired another salvo at the Pakistani cricket team on Sunday.
This one was a dig at wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan who had dedicated his gritty hundred in the record-breaking chase against Sri Lanka on 10 October to “our brothers and sisters in Gaza”.
After the team lost to India Saturday, Kaneria posted on X: “Next time dedicate your victory to humanity. The almighty never supports cruelty.” #IndvsPak
The Gaza Strip’s de facto ruler Hamas attacked Israel’s border on 7 October killing over 1,300 people. In retaliation, Israel carpet-bombed north Gaza – killing 2,670 Palestinians – and is poised for a ground invasion to flush out Hamas militants. The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by many countries.