Kaneria not cleared, say ICC and PCB

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dubai (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Monday that leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was never cleared for his alleged involvement in match-fixing for Essex in English county cricket.

In a joint statement, the ICC, PCB and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said categorically denied giving a clearance certificate as claimed by Kaneria.

The PCB stated that following the Mervyn Westfield judgment, Kaneria will again be called to appear before its integrity committee to explain his position.

The PCB also confirmed that Kaneria’s clearance is pending before the integrity committee where in the last meeting he was directed to provide copies of the tapes of his Essex police interview.

Kaneria has denied he has ever been involved in fixing matches.

But Essex bowler Westfield, who has been sentenced to four months in prison for corruption, has accused Kaneria of pressuring team-mates to fix matches.

‘All these allegations are false. I have not only been cleared by the British police, but also by the ECB and the ICC,’ Kaneria had said in a statement.

Kaneria has been suspended from international cricket in 2010 by the PCB after allegations of spot-fixing first surfaced. But he has been playing domestic cricket and is the captain of the Sindh province.

Kaneria has also appealed to the Sindh High Court in Karachi against his PCB suspension but it was dismissed saying it was not within its jurisdiction.