Kaneria goes to court in bid to revive career

Danish Kaneria files court petition against PCB for not allowing him to resume his international career.

Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria on Saturday filed a court petition against Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not allowing him to resume his international career despite being cleared in a spot-fixing case.

The 30-year-old has not been allowed to play for Pakistan because an integrity committee of the PCB is not satisfied by the clearance from Essex, his county team in England.

Kaneria and fellow Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield were arrested last year on charges of spot-fixing during a Pro40 match against Durham. Kaneria was later released without being charged but Westfield faces criminal proceedings.

Kaneria featured in Pakistan's Test series against England last year but has not been selected since on the grounds of not being cleared by the PCB committee.

Kaneria said he filed the case as a last resort.

"I have given every document to the PCB but they are not clearing me. I have committed no crime and that's why Essex police and my county have cleared me in that spot-fixing case," Kaneria told AFP.

"My priority is to play for Pakistan but I don't know for what crime I am being punished by the PCB. Every time they announce a squad and every time they give contracts to players they say Kaneria is not cleared," he said.

The leg-spinner has taken 261 wickets in 61 Tests, besides taking 15 in 18 one-day internationals.

"Our point of view is that when the Essex police, Essex county and International Cricket Council have cleared Kaneria then why is PCB not clearing him, their demands have been unreasonable," said Kaneria's lawyer Farogh Naseem.

"It's up to the PCB to select him or not as player, but when there is nothing against Kaneria in that spot-fixing case, why he is not being cleared?" Naseem told AFP.

The Sindh High court will hear the case on Monday.