Danish Kaneria revealed that Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only captain who supported him.
Former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria accused former captain and legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi of persistently pressuring him to convert to Islam. Kaneria also opened up about the discrimination he faced during his playing days with the Pakistan cricket team.
Kaneria revealed that Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only captain who supported him, while most of the players troubled him a lot, including Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar. He said Afridi and Akhtar didn't eat alongside him.
He added that Afridi tried a lot to convince him to convert to Islam, and for being Hindu, he had to face a lot of discrimination in Pakistan.
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Danish Kaneria was quoted as saying by Aaj Tak: “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.”
The former spinner continued, “They didn't eat with me. They used to talk about conversion, but my religion is everything to me. Shahid Afridi was the main person telling me to convert and did it a lot of times. Inzamam-ul-Haq never used to talk that way.”
Kaneria praised India for providing equal opportunities to all cricketers irrespective of religion.
He signed off by saying, “PCB didn't support me because I was Hindu and I would break all the records. They couldn't drop me based on my performance. They knew I could break all the records and Pakistan has never had a Hindu rising through the ranks. India has given chances to everyone. My father also died at that time, so I was very upset.”
(With TOI Inputs)