Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria recently accused former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi of allegedly discriminating against him on the basis of his religion. In a recent interview, Kaneria alleged that Afridi mistreated him for being Hindu and pressurised the spinner to convert to Islam.
“Yes, Afridi used to often tell me to convert to Islam. But, I never used to take him seriously. I believe in my religion and it does not depend on cricket,” Kanera had told Zee News.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi himself reacted strongly to these allegations in an interview on Friday. Afridi refuted Kaneria’s accusations and said that he was himself trying to fully understand the religion at that time. Afridi also questioned Kaneria's character after the news of these allegations came out.
“He is accusing me to get cheap fame and make money. Kaneria was like my younger brother and I played with him in the department for many years,” the right-handed batter said and questioned the timing of these allegations after 15-20 years. Everyone knows about his character,” Afridi said.
He also said that Kaneria gave his interview to 'an enemy country', “He is giving interviews to our enemy country which can incite religious sentiments,” Afridi said.
In response to this statement, Kaneria posted a tweet saying, "India is not our enemy. Our enemies are those who instigate people in the name of religion. If you consider India as your enemy, then don't ever go to any Indian media channel."
Kaneria is facing a ban for his involvement in a spot-fixing case. Afridi also said that Kaneria defamed the country in the spot-fixing case and ended his cricket. “He is accusing me to get cheap fame and make money.”
The spinner has bagged 261 wickets in 61 Test matches for Pakistan.
“When I raised my voice against forced conversion, I was threatened that my career would be destroyed,” Kaneria added in the tweet.
