Pakistan Test spinner Danish Kaneria will not be considered for national selection until the Pakistan Cricket Board have no remaining doubts about his integrity, the PCB told a High Court hearing on Tuesday. The board's legal counsel, Tafazzul Rizvi, made the statement at a hearing of the Sindh High court that is hearing a petition filed by Kaneria against the PCB's refusal to clear him to play international cricket.
Kaneria claims the PCB should not consider him ineligible. The leg-spinner had his contract terminated by English county Essex last season after he had come under investigation in a spot-fixing case involving a Pro-40 match. Essex police cleared Kaneria, 30, who submitted letters to the PCB from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and his county team to prove he was not under investigation. "Kaneria cannot be considered for selection unless he produces the documents and material related to his questioning by the police last year," Rizvi told the court after Kaneria asked the court to direct the PCB to consider him for next month's tour of Zimbabwe.
"I told the court we don't want to mislead anyone but after the embarrassment Pakistan cricket faced last year in the spot-fixing case involving three of our players we are taking no chances at all on this issue," Rizvi later told Reuters. Rizvi said he had told the court the PCB had formed its integrity commitee as per the new anti-corruption laws of the ICC and until the player submitted transcript and tapes of the statement he gave to Essex police the committee would not clear him.
"He was investigated in a spot-fixing case and the committee wants to be absolutely sure he is in the clear once for all," Rizvi added. Kaneria, who has taken 261 wickets in 61 tests, last appeared for Pakistan against England in Nottingham in August 2010. The court set a date of August 18 for the next hearing.