Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Saturday accused Shahid Afridi of treating him unfairly all through his career and blamed him for a rather short limited overs outing.
Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. However, he only played 18 ODIs between 2000 and 2010.
Speaking to PTI from Karachi, the 39-year-old said, beyond his religion, it was difficult for him to think about the reason behind Afridi's discriminatory behaviour.
"He was always against me, when we were playing for the same department in domestic cricket or playing me in ODIs. If one person is always against you and you are in that situation, what other reason would think other than that (religion)," said Kaneria when asked if he was a victim of religious discrimination.
Kaneria, who last year supported Shoaib Akhtar's claim that he was treated unfairly in the team because of his religion, said he could have played a lot more than 18 ODIs if it was not for Afridi.
"I could not play more ODIs because of him and he also treated me unfairly when we used to play for the same department (in domestic cricket), he was the captain. He used to keep me out of the side and often he would do the same in ODIs without any reason.
"He used to support others but not me. Thanks to almighty, I still went on to play a lot for Pakistan and I could not be more proud of that."
"When not playing international cricket, he used to come back and drop me from the departmental team."
"I dont want to play the religion card. All I want is PCB's support. If they can allow Mohammad Aamir, Salman Butt back into the system, why not me?
"Yes, I made a mistake but so did others. They can't use and throw me like a toilet paper. I have served Pakistan for a long time and they should support me after all these years"
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