Danish Kaneria Breaks Silence, Says Shahid Afridi Ruined His ODI Career

Danish Kaneria blamed Pakistan's hard-hitting all-rounder Shahid Afridi for a rather short outing in white-ball cricket

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Ex-Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria, who is only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan, has accused former Pak skipper Shahid Afridi for not treating him fairly during his cricketing days and also blamed the hard-hitting all-rounder for a rather short outing in white-ball cricket. Kaneria played only 18 One-Day-International games between 2000 and 2010. "He was always against me, when we were playing for the same department in domestic cricket or playing me in ODIs. If one person is always against you and you are in that situation, what other reason would think other than that (religion)," Kaneria told PTI when asked if he was a victim of religious discrimination. "I could not play more ODIs because of him and he also treated me unfairly when we used to play for the same department (in domestic cricket), he was the captain. He used to keep me out of the side and often he would do the same in ODIs without any reason. "He used to support others but not me. Thanks to almighty, I still went on to play a lot for Pakistan and I could not be more proud of that." Kaneria said he used to be a regular member of ODI squads but hardly got to play, blaming Afridi again for that. "I was a leg spinner and so was he. That was another reason. He was a big star and playing for Pakistan anyway and to treat me like that, I could not understand why. "They used to say two spinners can't play in the eleven. They used to say my fielding was an issue in limited overs cricket. You tell me who were the supremely fit leaders at that time? There were only one or two good fielders. Pakistan was never known for fielding anyway. "When not playing international cricket, he used to come back and drop me from the departmental team." "I dont want to play the religion card. All I want is PCB's support. If they can allow Mohammad Aamir, Salman Butt back into the system, why not me? "Yes, I made a mistake but so did others. They can't use and throw me like a toilet paper. I have served Pakistan for a long time and they should support me after all these years" Kaneria played most under the captaincy of Inzamam-ul-Haq. He said Inzaman and Younis Khan supported him the most. "I played under Moin Khan, Rashd Latif, Inzy bhai, Younish bhai. I played very little under Afridi. Inzy bhai and Younis bhai supported me a lot and it is a fact. "However, Inzy bhai doesn't talk about me positively in public but I will always be thankful to him for his support. I flourished under him," Kaneria added.