Former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria has made startling accusations against his former teammate Shahid Afridi, alleging that Afridi attempted to forcibly convert him to Islam during his playing days. Kaneria, who is of Hindu faith, also revealed the discrimination he faced from some of his teammates due to his religious background. According to Kaneria, Shahid Afridi, along with others, would refuse to eat with him and actively pressured him to abandon Hinduism and embrace Islam.
In contrast to the alleged mistreatment, Kaneria expressed gratitude towards Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar, who he said were the only two Pakistani players who stood by him during these challenging times.
Furthermore, Kaneria shed light on what he perceived as a lack of support from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He claimed that PCB officials were quick to back several players who faced spot-fixing charges but did not extend the same support to him, mainly because of his religious affiliation.
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Kaneria stated that he was charged with spot-fixing during his county cricket stint and admitted to having met a bookie, but he was allegedly coerced into accepting the charges. He believes that the PCB’s lack of support stemmed from their fear that his continued presence in the sport could threaten established records.
These allegations by Danish Kaneria have brought to the forefront a contentious issue surrounding religion and cricket in Pakistan and have sparked discussions about the treatment of players from minority religious backgrounds within the cricketing community.
Former cricketer Danish Kaneria is once again on a spree against his former teammates, accusing them of forcing him to change his religion and convert to Islam. In his online interviews, he is targetting Pakistan. He has been criticizing Pakistan for hate crimes towards Hindu community in the country.