Danish Kaneria accuses Shahid Afridi for forcing conversion upon him

Former Pakistani leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria, recently made a startling accusation against ex-skipper, Shahid Afridi. The former accused Afridi of trying to get him to convert from Hinduism to Islam. He also spoke about the gross discrimination he had to endure while representing the national men’s team of Pakistan.

The erstwhile cricketer was at a Congressional briefing in Washington, DC, which is when he addressed the hardships endured by someone like him in Pakistan.

“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. I, too, have faced a lot of discrimination, and my career was destroyed. I did not receive the respect and equal value I deserved in Pakistan. Because of this discrimination, I am in the US today. We spoke to raise awareness and let the USA know how much we have suffered so that action can be taken,” stated Kaneria, as quoted by India Today.

Shahid Afridi was the main person telling me to convert: Kaneria

The 44-year-old also disclosed the stark difference in treatment by Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq, sharing that the latter never brought up religion while representing the nation along with Kaneria. He said that apart from Inzamam and Shoaib Akhtar, no one stood for him in the side.

“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 him, Shoaib Akhtar. Shahid Afridi and many other Pakistan players troubled me a lot and didn’t eat with me. Shahid Afridi was the main person telling me to convert, and he did a lot of times. Inzamam-ul-Haq never used to talk that way,” added Kaneria.

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Kaneria played a total of 79 matches (61 Tests and 18 ODIs) for Pakistan between 2000 and 2010. He registered 261 wickets in Tests with 15 five-wicket and two 10-wicket hauls to his name. Kaneria’s playing career ended when the England and Wales Cricket Board found him guilty of spot-fixing.