'My career was destroyed': Danish Kaneria, Pakistan's last Hindu cricketer, opens up on discrimination

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria on Thursday said his career was destroyed due to discrimination and that he was denied equal respect in Pakistan. Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria.(ANI)

At a Congressional briefing in Washington, DC, on the ‘plight of minorities in Pakistan,’ he joined others in raising concerns over their treatment.

“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,” Danish Kaneria told news agency ANI.

“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,” Danish Kaneria added.

Kaneria, who played 61 Tests for Pakistan, is the second Hindu cricketer to represent the national team after Anil Dalpat.

The highest wicket-taking spinner for Pakistan claimed in 2023 that Shahid Afridi repeatedly pressured him to convert to Islam, adding that Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only captain who supported him.

“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,” Kaneria said in an interview with Aaj Tak.

On the occasion, former Wall Street Journal journalist Asra Nomani recalled the 2002 abduction and killing of her colleague and friend, Daniel Pearl, who she said was “kidnapped, beheaded, and cut into pieces.” She said minorities in Pakistan are denied the rights and freedoms of equal citizens.

“I saw on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, the tragic impact of sectarianism that is claiming too many minorities. My friend and colleague, Daniel Pearl, was the journalist who was kidnapped, beheaded, and cut into pieces in 2002,” Nomani told ANI.

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