Kaneria says fixing allegations are false

ISLAMABAD, (AP)—Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria on Saturday denied he had ever been involved in fixing matches.

In sentencing Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield to four months in prison on Friday for on-field corruption, a judge in London accused Kaneria of pressuring teammates at

the county side to fix matches.

“All these allegations are false,” Kaneria told The Associated Press.

“I have not only been cleared by the British police, but also by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council.”

Kaneria has been suspended from international cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board since 2010 soon after allegations of spot-fixing during a county match first surfaced.

He was named in the test squad for the series against South Africa in 2010, but was pulled out at the last minute after Westfield was charged for spot-fixing during a county match.

However, Kaneria has been playing in Pakistan’s domestic tournaments.

For the last two years Kaneria had been trying to clear his name in spot-fixing allegations and even appealed in the Sindh High Court at Karachi against his PCB suspension.

However, last year the court dismissed Kaneria’s appeal, saying it was not within its jurisdiction.

“I have been trying my best to clear my name, but so far I don’t know why the PCB suspended me from playing international cricket for Pakistan,” Kaneria said.

The legspinner was an integral part of Pakistan’s test squad, claiming 261 wickets in 61 test matches, before he was sidelined by the PCB.