Exclusive Interview | Pakistan Voting Against Jay Shah For ICC Chief Post Will Have Serious Implications: Danish Kaneria On 'Missed Opportunity'

Bangladesh recently scripted test history by outplaying Pakistan 2-0 series, recording a comprehensive victory by restricting the hosts to 172 in the second innings of the second Test. The Bangla Tigers achieved the target of 185 with four wickets remaining, finishing their series victory in style. A lot of fans and former cricketers castigated the Pakistan team for their below-average performance against Bangladesh. In the list of unhappy former cricketers, one name that stood out the most was Danish Kaneria who has taken 261 wickets in Test for Pakistan and was one of the crafty leg spinners the world has ever seen.

In an exclusive conversation with ZEE News, Kaneria highlighted the reasons why Pakistan lost against Bangladesh. He also spoke about the current scenario of the Pakistan team.

“This discussion has been going on for the past fortnight the way Bangladesh defeated Pakistan on their home soil is very shameful. Pakistan has given so many star players over a while but the way they got outplayed by Bangladesh is disgraceful. Bangladesh batted well, bowled well and their team selection was also good. They came up with a proper plan and executed it in a sleek manner. Pakistan team failed to exploit their home conditions and they looked clueless against Bangladesh that too on their home soil. This is the sheer downfall of Pakistan cricket.”

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Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria did not mince his words and bluntly targeted the Pakistan Cricket Board for spoiling the cricketing ecosystem. He feels the system is responsible for everything. 

“I think we should not blame players, it is the system that has been failing time and again and as a result, Pakistan cricket is going down. Pakistan Cricket Board is only focusing towards PSL rather they should take domestic cricket seriously. They have made Test cricket secondary. Their downfall started when they removed Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy, he was a perfect skipper. There has been a lot of politics going on in the Pakistan Cricket Board and as a result, the aura, and the ambience of the team have been pathetic”, Kaneria said.

Kaneria said that the ongoing politics and people with vested interests have spoiled Pakistan cricket. "They told Shaheen that he is the biggest bowler and without him, it’s not possible for them to win matches. Talking about Shan Masood, as a player it’s difficult for him to get a place in the playing XI. He has not been consistent with the bat over the years and you made him the captain. They are not sure about the decision they are taking, they asked Shaheen to take up the captaincy and later removed him. The same happened with Babar Azam also. ( Ye apne baat pe khade nhi rehte, ek series haare toh captain change kr diya. Eise toh pure playing XI ko captain bana do). Shaan Masood needs to go back to domestic cricket, learn how to do captaincy and then come back to play for the national side”, Kaneria added. 

Kaneria also shared his school of thoughts on the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi. According to Kaneria, Naqvi does not deserve to hold the post. He dissected his statements by referring to former PCB chairmen. 

“The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Mohsin Naqvi does not deserve to hold the post. When I used to play for Pakistan, I saw chairmans who had a great vision of uplifting Pakistan cricket. Arif Ali Khan Abbasi who used to head the Pakistan Cricket Board was a great administrator. He used to handle the team in a smooth manner. You should select someone as the chairman who at least knows about cricket”, the 43-year-old told ZEE News. 

The former Pakistan spinner reckons that the Indian team will not go to Pakistan to take part in the upcoming Champions Trophy. He said there are a lot of security concerns plus the infrastructure and facilities are not there to organise the Champions Trophy. 

“The Indian team will not go to Pakistan and they should not. There are a lot of security concerns. As per the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, the grounds are getting ready for the Champions Trophy which clearly states that currently, Pakistan does not have that infrastructure. See, the Indian team is one of the top tier teams across the world, why would they come to such a country that does not have even peeper international facilities?”

Over a while, a lot of news and reports have surfaced which said that the Hindus of Pakistan are forced to convert to Islam. A lot of temples have been destroyed by the locals in Pakistan to torment Hindus. After being asked about the same, Kaneria agreed and said, “Yes, it happens. These are the reasons why India does not go to Pakistan. The conversion rate is way too high there. Pakistan need to respect Hindus and other religions. A lot of temples in Pakistan have been sabotaged. If Pakistan wants to do well, they will have to get rid of their egos, they need to talk to BCCI on a friendly note. As of now, Pakistan always looks for topics to fight with India and this is not healthy at all.”

Danish Kaneria lauded BCCI Secretary and the newly made ICC Chairman, Jay Shah for his impeccable work with the Indian cricket.  “Jay Shah has been doing a tremendous job with Indian cricket. The way he has evolved domestic cricket is commendable and this is the reason why he has been made the ICC chairman. There are a total of 16 members and 15 of them have voted for Jay Shah. Pakistan did not vote in Jay Shah’s favour and it will not make any difference to him. Pakistan should have voted for him in order to show that they want to have a healthy relationship with India. They are egoistic and this will have a major impact on Pakistan cricket. The BCCI produces 90% of revenue when it comes to cricket, and IPL is one of the richest franchise leagues in the world. Pakistan should have learnt something and should have supported Jay Shah if they wanted to do well or host bigger events”, Kaneria stated.

One of the major concerns why the Pakistan cricket team is consistently failing is Babar Azam’s poor form. The star batter has been going through a rough patch for quite some time now. According to Kaneria, “If Babar Azam wants to do well, he should keep aside that feeling that he is the best. People should not compare Babar with Virat I mean there is no comparison. Virat is the legend of the game and he has been consistent for so many years now. Babar is nowhere in the race to get compared to Babar. Virat is the king of cricket. The system and administration of Pakistan cricket have spoiled Babar as he was constantly told by them that he is a legend and without him team cannot function."

“Pakistan management should tell Babar to go, take a break start playing domestic cricket and then come back. I remember, when Inzi Bhai (Inzamam-ul-Haq) was going through a poor form, he went back to play domestic cricket, scored runs there and then came back to play for Pakistan”, he said.

Kaneria believes if Pakistan cricket wants to do well, they should bring in veteran player Sarfaraz Ahmed back in the squad.  “Pakistan should bring in Sarfaraz Ahmed as the skipper rather than opting for a new captain. Sarfaraz has made Pakistan win a lot of series, he knows how to lead the team. Shaan should be made Sarfaraz’s deputy so that he can be groomed by him. This is how Pakistan cricket can get some benefit”, Kaneria opined.