Kaneria asks PCB to lift life ban, wants to play domestic cricket

Karachi: Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has appealed to the cricket board to lift the life ban imposed on him in 2013 after he was found guilty of spot-fixing.

Kaneria, Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in Tests, is desperate to return to the cricketing fold and is even keen on playing domestic cricket.

In a letter to Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani, the 39-year-old’s legal firm requested him to revoke the ban which will give Kaneria a chance to earn his living through the game.

The PCB had slapped the punishment on Kaneria after he lost an appeal on the life ban imposed on him by the English and Wales Cricket Board in 2012.

On many occasions, Kaneria has argued that if past offenders like Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt can be allowed to play after serving their bans, it is unfair to deny him the chance to earn his livelihood “from the only skill he has honed”.

Kaneria, who was found guilty of spot-fixing alongside Mervyn Westfield while playing for English county Essex against Durham in 2009, has been pleading for the PCB’s help for a long time.

Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79.

However, he only played 18 ODIs between 2000 and 2010.