<p>Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar has alleged that his teammate Danish Kaneria faced discrimination at the hands of a few Pakistani cricketers, who were reluctant to even eat with him because he was a Hindu.</p>.<p>Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. He also played 18 ODIs.</p>.<p>Akhtar made the revelation during a show called "Game on Hai" aired on PTV Sports.</p>.<p>"In my career, I fought with two-three (in the team) when they started talking on regionalism. Things like 'who is from Karachi, Punjab or Peshawar', that used to infuriate. So what if someone is a Hindu, he is doing well for the team.</p>.<p>"They used to say 'sir ye yaaha se khaana kaise le raha hain'(how is he taking food from this place)?" said the 44-year-old, who played 46 Tests and 163 ODIs.</p>.<p>"The same Hindu won the Test for us against England. If he is taking a bagful of wickets for Pakistan, he should play. We could not have won the series without Kaneria's effort. But not many gave him credit for that," said Akhtar.</p>.<p>Kaneria, now 39, was found guilty of spot-fixing alongside Mervyn Westfield while playing for Essex against Durham in 2009.</p>.<p>The leg-spinner was found to have convinced Westfield to concede 12 runs during the one-day game. Westfield was handed a four-month prison sentence and ECB banned him for five years.</p>.<p>Kaneria admitted to spot-fixing in 2018 after six years of denial.</p>
<p>Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar has alleged that his teammate Danish Kaneria faced discrimination at the hands of a few Pakistani cricketers, who were reluctant to even eat with him because he was a Hindu.</p>.<p>Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. He also played 18 ODIs.</p>.<p>Akhtar made the revelation during a show called "Game on Hai" aired on PTV Sports.</p>.<p>"In my career, I fought with two-three (in the team) when they started talking on regionalism. Things like 'who is from Karachi, Punjab or Peshawar', that used to infuriate. So what if someone is a Hindu, he is doing well for the team.</p>.<p>"They used to say 'sir ye yaaha se khaana kaise le raha hain'(how is he taking food from this place)?" said the 44-year-old, who played 46 Tests and 163 ODIs.</p>.<p>"The same Hindu won the Test for us against England. If he is taking a bagful of wickets for Pakistan, he should play. We could not have won the series without Kaneria's effort. But not many gave him credit for that," said Akhtar.</p>.<p>Kaneria, now 39, was found guilty of spot-fixing alongside Mervyn Westfield while playing for Essex against Durham in 2009.</p>.<p>The leg-spinner was found to have convinced Westfield to concede 12 runs during the one-day game. Westfield was handed a four-month prison sentence and ECB banned him for five years.</p>.<p>Kaneria admitted to spot-fixing in 2018 after six years of denial.</p>