“Who asked Rizwan to perform Namaz in playground?” - Danish Kaneria lashes out at PCB for filing complaint over crowd behavior in Ahmedabad 

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has hit out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after it lodged an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over crowd behavior towards its players during the India vs Pakistan 2023 World Cup match in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Citing a few examples, he opined that PCB must look at what Pakistan has done wrong instead of finding faults in others.

India got the better of Pakistan by seven wickets in the marquee clash of the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad on October 14. The Men in Blue first bowled out Pakistan for 191 and then cruised past the total in 30.3 overs.

There were a few incidents during the match that grabbed the limelight. Pakistan captain Babar Azam was booed loudly at the toss, while “Jai Shri Ram" chants were directed at keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan as he was walking back after being dismissed for 49.

On Tuesday, October 17, the PCB shared a post on X and confirmed that they had lodged an official complaint with the ICC over “inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the India vs Pakistan” game and over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists as well as the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans.

The PCB post read:

"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans for the ongoing World Cup 2023."

"The PCB has also filed a complaint regarding inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the India vs Pakistan match held on 14 October 2023," the post added.

Reacting to PCB’s move, Kaneria lashed out at the cricket board and questioned some of the actions from Pakistan’s camp.

“Who asked Pakistani journalist Zainab Abbas to comment against India and Hindus? Who asked Mickey Arthur to call ICC event as BCCI event? Who asked Rizwan to perform Namaz in playground? Don’t find faults in others!” he said.

Abbas left the broadcast panel for the World Cup citing personal reasons after some of her old anti-India social media posts came to the fore. As for Arthur, the team director questioned the absence of Pakistan fans during the match in Ahmedabad.

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Who is Danish Kaneria?

A former Pakistan leg-spinner, played Kaneria 61 Tests and 18 ODIs between 2000 and 2010, claiming 261 and 15 wickets, respectively.

He was banned for life by the England board after being found guilty of corruption in a spot-fixing case.

Kaneria and Mervyn Westfield, while representing Essex, were found to have underperformed in a 2009 Pro40 match against Durham.