Danish Kaneria admits involvement in County spot-fixing after 6 years

Kaneria came forward to apologise for his involvement which led to a 2-month imprisonment of his Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield

After six long years of denial, former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria admitted his role in a spot-fixing scandal which led to a 2-month imprisonment of his fellow county cricketer Mervyn Westfield. Kaneria was given a life ban from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2012 that effectively applied worldwide. However, he has now come forward to apologise for all the wrongs he did.

According to a Daily Mail report, Kaneria was allegedly a ‘middleman’ who introduced the bookmaker, Anu Bhatt, to Westfield. Later, Bhatt denied all the criminal charges levelled upon him by the English legal authorities.

As per the reports, Kaneria opened up in an interview with Al Jazeera and said, “My name is Danish Kaneria and I admit that I was guilty of the two charges brought against me by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2012.”

“I want to apologise to Mervyn Westfield, my Essex teammates, my Essex cricket club, my Essex cricket fans. I say sorry to Pakistan,” he was quoted in the reports as saying.

The reason of Kaneria’s denial

The reports further explained that the former Pakistan spinner denied the allegations in fear of embarrassing his father who died in 2013 fighting cancer.

“His health was getting worse and worse. I didn’t have the courage to face him and tell him that I was wrong. He was a very, very proud guy. Very, very proud of me and what I did, representing Pakistan, representing my country. I want to apologise to my father, who has always been a role model for me,” Kaneria was quoted as saying.

Westfield accepts the apology

On the other hand, Westfield stated that he has accepted the apology and hoped that Kaneria ‘finds peace’.

“This whole chapter of spot-fixing changed my life, but I have never blamed anyone for the terrible mistake I made. However, opening up about my wrongdoing and telling the truth allowed me to move on. I hope that Danish finds peace and closure by doing this, and I wish him all the best for the future,” said Westfield.

What was the case?

Mervyn Westfield had to spend 2-month imprisonment in South-East London’s Belmarsh prison. He pleaded guilty to accepting £6,000 (Rs 5,78,433) from Bhatt to concede 12 runs in his first over of an English county 40-over game against Durham in 2009. He conceded only 10 but still took the money.

Unfortunate end of Kaneria’s flying career

Danish Kaneria last represented Pakistan in 2010 against England in a Test match in Trent Bridge. Since 2012, he hasn’t appeared in any first-class games, with all major boards upholding the ECB ban under International Cricket Council guidance.

The 37-year-old remains Pakistan’s leading spinner with 261 Test wickets.