Danish Kaneria - Forgotten, Ignored, Wasted yet again

He broke open in the Paki cricket scene in Late November of 2000 against the visiting English team in a test match. He was then known as Danesh Kaneria. With the likes of Abdul Qadir & Mushtaq Ahmed already set the tone of great former leg spinners of Pakistan, the standard was set. Warne and Kumble being in the competition when it comes to practicing the googlies and
flippers in other countries. Danesh Kaneria had a lot to prove to become one of the best.

The good thing for him was that Saqlain Mushtaq, the No. 1 prospect for Pakistan then was already out of form, injured and out of the scene for mysterious reasons which I to date have not understood. Mushtaq was past his prime but the people needed a new face, the future. Danesh did impress with his artillery on a helpful Faisalabad pitch at his debut and many people were relaxed that it was not over in the leg-spin department for Pakistan.

He quickly became a regular in the Paki test side and consistently performed with the role of the bowler who bowls th whole day from the "other" end. Its only recently that he has started taking some wickets against big nations as well. But for me, he is not as great as people rate him. However, taking nothing away from him cos this guy does work hard. They say leg-spinners only get better with age cos the art requires a lot of mind-wars with the batsman and the perfectionist attitude. The control of the spinning ball with a twist of the wrist here and a ball coming from the back of the hand. Kaneria is already on trot to be that great guy only if he gets more opportunity.



Opportunity. Now that is where the selectors have not been able to get the game right for him to develop. Firstly, there have not been much test series in Pakistan for him to play and somehow I don't remember many abroad as well. Since test matches is all where he is trusted for, Danesh or Danish has been deprived of matchplay. I wonder when will they get him in the one-dayers.

There is just one person in the Paki ODI side which has taken up a place and has deprived a place for a good batsman and a good leg spinner. The reader must wonder, how one man can deprive spots for 2 players. This can only happen in Pakistan. One name, Shahid Afridi.

Shahid Afridi, an automatic in the Paki ODI side for whatever reason which I certainly dont understand, has spoilt the nations cricket for ages to come. Just because he is an automatic in the ODI side, the whole makeup & strategy of the team changes. I will write another post to explain how many players have suffered because of him. This post is about Kaneria.

Kaneria would definitely have got more chances in the ODI side if Afridi wasnt there. Since that so-called leg-spin option is already there and Kaneria cant bat (so is the opinion), he is excess baggage for ODIs. If you ask me, I will pick him instead of Afridi on any day. I think he can get the same number of runs that Afridi gets on average and he can certainly cause more trouble with his bowling. I think the even success stories of Imran, Waqar & Wasim was dependent on the quality spin option that was always there. Even on an off day for them a Qadir or a Mushi would come in and break partnerships, make the batsmen think differently etc. The Ws would come back in a 2nd or 3rd spell to rip off the rest of the lineup.

A quality spin option is an essential part of any side whether it is ODI or Test Matches. I think its about time the Paki selectors realize that Danish needs more time on the pitch than on the sidelines. He has proven his worth by playing for Essex and bedazzling the batsmen there. He certainly deserves a place. However. He has been once again left out of the Champions Trophy squad and rumours lurking that he might go and join the English side which he clearly clarified that he didnt mean it the way it was portrayed. He meant he is always available for Pakistan and may think about England if the selectors shun him out completely for a long period of time. That is the 2nd Paki spinner rumour lurking around after Saqlain Mushtaq was in the news a month or so back on the same topic.

He is 27 now and he can be that difference to get Pakistan the world cup again if only the Paki selectors can somehow manage to get Afridi out of the team and get Kaneria in the ODI side as well. Only time will tell.