Kaneria will contest ban by board

The leg-spinner's appeal against his non-selection in the Pakistan cricket team has been quashed by a lower court.

KARACHI // Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan leg-spinner, on Friday vowed to clear his name over a spot-fixing case in which he was released without charge in Britain, saying he would take his case to higher courts in his home country.

A Sindh high court bench on Thursday dismissed Kaneria's petition against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for refusing to select him since spot-fixing claims emerged in 2010, saying the matter was outside their jurisdiction.

"I'm under a lot of pressure and will seek legal advice on how to go about it," Kaneria said on Friday. "We can file the case in the Lahore High Court or Supreme Court after consultation."

Kaneria, 30, who has taken 261 wickets from 61 Tests, has not been selected to play for Pakistan since being withdrawn from the squad to face South Africa in October last year.

He was arrested in Britain along with Mervyn Westfield, his Essex county teammate, over allegations of spot-fixing during a Pro40 match against Durham in September 2010, but was released without charge, although Westfield faced criminal proceedings.

But the PCB's integrity committee did not clear Kaneria and instead asked him to produce the transcripts of the Essex police investigation.

Tafazzul Rizvi, the PCB legal adviser, said that the board had nothing personal against the player. "If he wants to go to the Supreme Court or Lahore High Court then we will contest. But PCB has nothing against Kaneria," Rizvi said.

"There are some integrity concerns over the player, just like with [all-rounder] Shoaib Malik, who cleared his name. We want all players to clear their names."

Kaneria's case comes after three Pakistanis - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were handed prison sentences for fixing in a Lord's Test against England last year.