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Danish Kaneria finally admits his involvement in 2012 spot fixing scandal

Danish Kaneria finally admits his involvement in 2012 spot fixing scandal
October 18, 2018
LAHORE (92 News) – Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria finally admitted his role in the 2012 spot fixing scandal after six years. Talking in interview with an Arab TV, he admitted his guilty of the two charges leveled against him by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2012. He apologised to Westfield, the Essex cricket club, fans and Pakistan. “I am really ashamed for my mistake in mistake (sin) in the cricket. I cannot spend my life with the lies. I deliberately introduced Mervyn Westfield to fixer Anu Bhatt, a scandal that led to Westfield’s imprisonment,” the cricketer said. He said that the reason why he didn’t admit to the charges is because he didn’t want to embarrass his father, who died in 2013 after battling cancer. “His health was getting worse and worse,” he recalled. “I didn’t have the courage to face him and tell him that I was wrong. He was a very, very proud guy. Very, very proud of me and what I did, representing Pakistan, representing my country.” During the interview, he asked for a second chance and said he can help “educate young people in cricket, teach them that if you do wrong you are finished like me”. Kaneria was handed a lifetime ban by the ECB for his role in the scandal. However, he was able to avoid criminal charges because of the lack of evidence for a conviction. Kaneria remains Pakistan’s leading spinner with 261 Test wickets. He last played for Pakistan in the Trent Bridge Test of 2010 and has not appeared in any first-class game since March 2012. All major boards are upholding the ECB ban. Meanwhile, Westfield told the Daily Mail that he accepted Kaneria’s apology. “This whole chapter of spot-fixing changed my life, but I have never blamed anyone for the terrible mistake I made,” he said.