Danish Kaneria has responded to the claims which were made by Shoaib Akhtar about the discrimination faced by the spinner within the Pakistan cricket team in his time because of his Hindu faith. Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria praised Shoaib Akhtar for taking such a brave move and confirmed that whatever he has said was true.
“He (Shoaib) told the truth. I will reveal the names of players who didn’t like to talk to me as I was a Hindu. I did not have the courage to speak on it (earlier), but now I will,” Kaneria was quoted by ANI as saying on Thursday.
Read here: South Africa Captain Faf du Plessis Looks for Fresh Start
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar had revealed earlier during a chat show that Danish Kaneria was treated badly by his Pakistani teammates because he was a Hindu.
Pak cricketer Danish Kaneria to ANI on Shoaib Akhtar's allegations that Pak players had problems eating with Kaneria as he's a Hindu:He told the truth. I'll reveal names of players who didn't like to talk to me as I was a Hindu. Didn't have courage to speak on it, but now I will. pic.twitter.com/HmeSUhtbUk
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2019
Danish Kaneria, who placed at fourth on the list of bowlers with most Test wickets for Pakistan, is the second Hindu who represented the Pakistan cricket team after Anil Dalpat. The spinner, who had 261 Test wickets and 15 ODI wickets in his name, said that he did not have the courage to talk about that openly but after Akhtar’s bold stand he will soon name the players who had issues with him during his cricketing days.
“The players who didn’t like to talk to me just because I was a Hindu. Soon I will reveal their names. I did not have the courage to speak in this regard, but now I got the courage to speak on this issue when I heard Shoaib’s statement,” Danish Kaneria said.
He further added that there were players like Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Akhtar who were nice to him irrespective of his Hindu religion.