Kaneria vows to fight on for Pakistan career
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria Friday vowed to clear his
name over a spot-fixing case in which he was released without charge in
Britain, saying he would take his case to higher courts in his home
country.
A two-member Sindh high court bench on Thursday dismissed Kaneria's
petition against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for refusing to select
him since spot-fixing claims emerged in 2010, saying the matter was
outside their jurisdiction.
"I'm under a lot of pressure and will seek legal advice on how to go
about it," Kaneria told AFP.
"We can file the case in the Lahore High Court or Supreme Court after
consultation - it's very stressful."
The 30-year-old Kaneria has not been selected to play for Pakistan
since being withdrawn from the squad to face South Africa in October
last year. He was arrested in Britain along with Essex county teammate
Mervyn Westfield over allegations of spot-fixing during a Pro40 match
against Durham in September 2010, but was released without charge,
although Westfield faced criminal proceedings.
But the PCB's integrity committee did not clear Kaneria and instead
asked him to produce the transcripts of the Essex police investigation.
Kaneria's lawyer Farogh Naseem said their next move would be decided
soon.
"Our petition was dismissed only because the Sindh high court doesn't
have the jurisdiction to hear the case," Naseem said.PCB legal adviser
Tafazzul Rizvi said the case could be contested in any of the courts.
"If he wants to go to the Supreme Court or Lahore High Court then we
will contest. But at the same time PCB has nothing against Kaneria,"
said Rizvi. "There are some integrity concerns over the player, just
like with Shoaib Malik who cleared his name we want all players to clear
their names," he added.
Kaneria's case comes after three Pakistan players Salman Butt,
Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer along with their agent were handed
prison sentences for fixing during a Lord's Test against England last
year. AFP |