Danish Kaneria hopes Pakistan cricket helps him to pay fine

Banned test leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria is hoping against hope that Pakistan's cricket authorities and cricket community will come to his rescue after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stepped up its efforts to recover almost 250,000 pounds from him.

"I still haven't received any notice from the court regarding the application filed on behalf of the ECB in the Sindh High Court for recovery of the money from me," Kaneria told PTI today.

The money he referred to is what the ECB wants to recover from him as fines and costs for the spot fixing hearings and appeals held in London since 2012.

Kaneria who played the last of his 61 tests in 2010 was banned for life by the disciplinary committee of the ECB in June, 2012 for spot fixing in county cricket while playing for Essex.

The leg-spinner only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan than twice filed appeals first before an appeals tribunal of the ECB than a commercial court in London against the life ban and costs but both times his appeals were thrown out.

And he has now been left with not only a life without cricket but also with outstanding debts of around 250,000 pounds which translates to approximately 3.75 crore Pakistani rupees.

Looking pale and clearly worried after having just recovered from a bout of food poisoning, Kaneria said he would consult his lawyers after they got the notice from Khawaja Naveed the high profile lawyer hired by the ECB.

But even though he might not express it openly he is now desperate to use all backdoor channels to settle the matter with the ECB.

"Yes it would be a big support if the PCB guided or helped me in this situation. So far all these years I have fought to prove my innocence all alone and it has dried up my resources and that of my family," Kaneria said matter of factly.

The leg-spinner who lives in a three bed spacious apartment in the posh Bath Island residential area near Clifton bridge. The apartment is shared by the families of Kaneria and his elder brother and their mother.

"My father passed away during this ordeal that started in 2010 when they first stopped me from playing for Pakistan and I was called back from the airport while going to Abu Dhabi for the South Africa series," Kaneria recalled.

Kaneria said his family had been a source of great strength for him even when mostly the cricket community remained aloof and the PCB ignored him apart from insisting in a few meetings that he confess to his guilt.
"But now I hope the PCB will help me our as will members of the cricket community," he added.

Asked whether he was in any position to pay the 250,000 pounds to the ECB if ordered to do so by the court, Kaneria said he was not even thinking about such a possibility right now.

"I am already devastated for the last three years and now this ... I came back to Pakistan after losing my appeals reconciled to the fact that cricket was over for me now .but my misfortunes don't seem to end," Kaneria who took a total of 261 test wickets said.

Asked if he had even considered the option of coming clean on the spot fixing episode as demanded by the ECB, Kaneria shot back: "Than why have I wasted my hard earned money, gone through such torture and given so much stress to my family. I have been only trying to prove my innocence all this time," the leg spinner said.