Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt has expressed his surprise over the claim of his former teammate Danish Kaneria that he was humiliated in the team for being a Hindu as claimed by former speedster Shoaib Akhtar.

“I am surprised by Kaneria’s comments. Because I was in the team from 2003 to 2010 and played a lot of matches with Kaneria and not once did I ever see anyone disrespecting or harassing him for being a Hindu,” Butt said.

Last month, Shoaib Akhtar said that Kaneria was humiliated by some players in the team because he was a Hindu. He didn’t get his due credit and some players even refused to eat food with him as well. Salman Butt, who served a five-year ban for spot-fixing, said there was no issue like that and he was given full freedom too.

“Kaneria being the only Hindu player in the side was a big plus for Pakistan cricket and in fact, I know for a fact that the captains made a point to ensure that Kaneria was made to feel comfortable in the team,” he added.

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Butt further said he never saw Kaneria feeling uncomfortable or upset during that time over anything related to this.

“No doubt, he is a top bowler and served us well, winning us many matches. But I was surprised when he seconded Shoaib Akhtar’s comments on him being ill-treated in the team and did not deny them,” said the former Test opener. “If anything I would ask Shoaib and Danish to both name those players who they claim mistreated Danish.”

Pakistan’s former manager and coach Haroon Rasheed also denied Akhter’s claim, citing, “Nothing of that sort happened and I always ensured that religion was never made an issue in the team. Everyone was equal and treated fairly.”

Even the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, who played with Danish Kaneria in the Pakistan team, also denied the claims.

“In the Pakistan team, everyone is a Pakistan player. I don’t recall a single time when anyone tried to ill-treat Kaneria because of his religion,” Kamran Akmal said.