Danish Prabha Shanker Kaneria (
Hindi : दानिश प्रभा शंकर कनेरिया ) (born 16 December 1980) is a Pakistani cricketer (
leg spinLeg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler). Danish Kaneria has continued the tradition of great Pakistani leg spin bowlers and possesses a very well disguised
googlyIn cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
. In Test matches, Kaneria holds the record for most wickets by any Pakistani spin bowler and fourth on the list of most Test wickets over all, only behind
Wasim AkramWasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
,
Waqar YounisWaqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time...
and
Imran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
.
Tests
He made his international debut in 2000 against England at
FaisalabadFaisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
. In January 2002, he took 7 wickets for 77
runsIn the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
in the Test match against
BangladeshThe Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
. In Bangladesh, which are his career best figures so far in Test cricket. Earlier, in the same season, he had taken 6 wickets in an innings twice against Bangladesh during Bangladesh's tour of Pakistan. In October 2004, he took 10 wickets against
Sri LankaThe Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
at
KarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, with a second-innings haul of 7/109, setting up Pakistan's 6-wicket win. More recently he has played an important role in Pakistan's Test wins over West Indies, England and India. In December 2009, He took 7/168 in the 1st innings of the 3rd Test match against
New ZealandThe New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at
NapierNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
. Pakistan managed to draw that game. Since then he has not played for Pakistan.
One Day Internationals
In One Day International cricket, he has been economical so far with an economy rate under 4.8 runs per over. His best bowling in ODIs came against
New ZealandThe New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in
Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in 2003. He also had a good series against
ZimbabweThe Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
in
SharjahSharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...
just before that.
Success in the one day arena has been more elusive, Pakistan usually opting to play the two spinning all-rounders
Shahid AfridiSahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team...
and
Shoaib MalikShoaib Malik is a Pakistani cricket player and former captain. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets, and has a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket...
or
Saeed AjmalSaeed Ajmal ; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who also uses the Doosra to good effect.-Early life and domestic cricket:...
instead.
County Cricket
Kaneria has impressed in English
county cricketThe County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
taking 32 wickets in seven championship matches for
EssexEssex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in
2005Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...
. Although unable to play English
county cricketCounty cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
in 2006 due to Pakistan's tour of England, he returned to play for
EssexEssex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in 2007, taking 107 wickets for the County in all forms of the game. He played for Essex again in 2008, although he missed the start of the campaign due to his wife giving birth to their second child. Kaneria suffered a broken finger in Essex's LV County Championship Division Two match against Worcestershire at Colchester on August 21, 2008. The bowler was injured attempting to take a catch off Ben Smith. An X-ray confirmed he had broken a finger and he missed the remainder of the 2008 English domestic season.
Arrest and release (2010)
In May 2010, he was arrested by Essex police in connection with “match irregularities” in the 2009 domestic season. The investigations are believed to focus on a NatWest Pro40 match in September 2009, which Essex won. In September 2010, police told Kaneria that the investigation had been closed and that he had been cleared of any allegations.
He was selected for the two-match test series against South Africa but shortly after the PCB stopped Kaneria from playing in the series. No reason was given.
Personal life
Kaneria is a devout
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
of
MarwariMarwari or Marwadi or Rajasthani people are Indian ethnic group, that inhabit the Rajasthan region of India. Their language Rajasthani is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages....
heritage. His uncle
Anil DalpatAnil Dalpat or Anil Dalpat Sonavaria was the first Hindu ever to play Test cricket for Pakistan. Dalpat was a lower-order batsman and wicket keeper, and represented Pakistan for a brief interval in the early 1980s, when Wasim Bari was injured...
played for Pakistan as a wicketkeeper. Kaneria is married and has one daughter.
External links