Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has claimed that his career was ruined due to religious discrimination, speaking at a Congressional briefing in Washington, DC. Highlighting the plight of minorities in Pakistan, Kaneria alleged that he faced severe discrimination throughout his career, which ultimately forced him to move to the United States.
“We all gathered here and shared our experiences of how we were treated in Pakistan. We have faced discrimination, and today, we raised our voices against it,” Kaneria was quoted as saying by ANI.
The former leg-spinner, who played 61 Test matches for Pakistan and remains only the second Hindu cricketer to represent the national team, further claimed that he was never given the respect or recognition he deserved.
Shahid Afridi Pressured Me to Convert: Kaneria
Kaneria also accused former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi of repeatedly pressuring him to convert to Islam.
“I was doing well in my career and was playing county cricket too. Inzamam-ul-Haq supported me a lot and was the only captain who did so, alongside Shoaib Akhtar. But Afridi and many other players troubled me a lot. They wouldn’t eat with me. Shahid Afridi was the main person telling me to convert, and he did so multiple times. Inzamam-ul-Haq never spoke to me in that manner,” he alleged.
Kaneria, who was banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2012 for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal, has repeatedly voiced his grievances about discrimination in Pakistan’s cricketing circles. His latest remarks at the US briefing bring renewed attention to the issue of religious minorities in Pakistan’s sports community.