Bengaluru: Amidst the row over Mohammad Rizwan offering namaz at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad and the chants of Jai Shree Ram at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, former star Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has exposed the religious bias in Pakistan Cricket.
In one of the posts attached with a video, Kaneria lambasts a Pakistani player for exhibitionism of Islam in the ground during a match against Sri Lanka. The video shows a Pakistani player telling Tilakratne Dilshan to convert to Islam if not he will be reduced to ashes in the fire. “If you (are) a non-Muslim and you turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in life, (you will go) straight to heaven,” the Pakistani player is seen saying.
To which, Dilshan replies but the audio in the video is unclear. In reply, the Pakistani player says, “Then be ready for the fire.”
Commenting on it, Kaneria said, “Be it the dressing room, the playground or the dining table, this happens to me every day.”
In another post, Kaneria questioned cricket commentator Waqar Younis justifying Rizwan offering namaz in the ground by ironically saying, “Performing Namaz in front of Kafir Hindus was more important than the match. That’s the problem!”
Waqar is seen saying in a Pakistani television, “Mohammad Rizwan played sensibly, and the aggression which he showed – and the best of the lots what Rizwan did – mashallah, who stood in the ground and offered namaz before the Hindus, that was something really special for me.”
Kaneria also slammed Pakistan Team Director Mickey Arthur for saying that the atmosphere inside the Narendra Modi Stadium did not feel like it was an ICC event.
“Tu idhar udhar ki baat na kar, Ye bata Qafila kyun luta .. (Don’t talk about this and that, tell me why the convoy was looted),” Kaneria Xed.
Arthur had said: “Look, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight.”
Even former Pakistan captain Salman Butt had called out Arthur for his comments. “That was totally uncalled for and unprofessional. It was something that was beyond his control and something he should be the last person to be worried about. His job is to motivate players, irrespective of the circumstances. It won’t have a good effect on the team if he makes such statements,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Kaneria also posed three questions over the issue of Pakistan Cricket Board lodging formal protests with the ICC, especially over the alleged misconduct targeting the Pakistani squad at Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Who asked Pakistani journalist Zainab Abbas to comment against India and Hindus? Who asked Mickey Arthur to call the ICC event as a BCCI event? Who asked Rizwan to perform Namaz in the playground? Don’t find faults in others!” Kaneria Xed.
Kaneria also poked at Rizwan for dedicating his unbeaten 131 runs in the recent World Cup match against Sri Lanka to “brothers and sisters in Gaza.
He said, “Next time dedicate your victory to humanity. The almighty never supports cruelty.”
