Lahore: Days after admitting to religious bias in Pakistan team, former spinner Danish Kaneria has now alleged that Pakistan cricket team welcomed those players in the side who "sold" their country. Without naming anyone, Kaneria said there were players who fixed matches and 'sold the country' but were welcomed back into the national squad.
In a YouTube video, Kaneria said: "To those who are saying I did this for cheap fame and for my Youtube channel, I want to remind them that I did not do it, Shoaib Akhtar spoke about discrimination against me on national television."
"People are saying I played for Pakistan for 10 years. But I played for 10 years at the cost of my blood. I gave blood to the cricket pitch. I kept bowling even when my fingers bled. There are people who have sold their country and who are still welcomed in the team. I never sold my country for money," Kaneria said.
Mildly backtracking from his earlier comments, Pakistan former speedster Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday took to twitter to issue a clarification on his statements, asserting that religion-based discrimination has never been part of Pakistan cricket team's culture.
"I watched the mess that was made of my statement, which was taken completely out of context," Akhtar wrote on his handle, attaching a video of his YouTube channel.