‘Shahid Afridi told me to convert’: Pakistan’s last Hindu cricketer alleges religious discrimination, demands US action

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria - the last Hindu cricketer to play for the country - has claimed that he faced a lot of discrimination during his time with the country's cricket team. Kaneria was speaking at a congressional briefing in Washington DC on the 'Plight of Minorities in Pakistan', which focused on the state of Hindu and Christian minorities in the Asian country.

Speaking at the briefing with news agency ANI, Kaneria said, “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 on being asked to convert:

In an earlier interaction with Aaj Tak in 2023, Kaneria had also named Shahid Afridi as the main culprit who teased him in the Pakistan cricket team and asked him to convert to Islam.

“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 told the publication.

Notably, Kaneria is only the second Hindu cricketer to have found a place in the Pakistan cricket team after Anil Dalpat. The former cricketer continues to be Pakistan's highest wicket-taking spinner, managing 261 wickets in 61 matches, which includes 15 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls.

Apart from the Test matches, Kaneria had a rather ordinary ODI career with 15 wickets in 18 matches at an economy rate of 4.8 with best figures of 3/31.