Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has submitted a clearance letter from his former county side Essex to the PCB in his bid to be re-considered for national selection. Kaneria confirmed that he had sent the clearance letter from Essex as per the instructions of the board. “I have got the clearance letter from Essex and now it is up to the PCB to decide the next step. Personally, I am very keen to get clearance to be considered for national selection again,” he said. The PCB last week gave the leg-spinner another chance to get clearance from the integrity committee of the board and make himself available for the national team by asking him to get a clearance letter from his old county, Essex saying he (Kaneria) was no longer required in the police case. Last year, the Essex police had held a three-month long investigation into allegations of spot-fixing against Kaneria and his Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield during a Pro-40 match against Durham in the 2009 season. Kaneria was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud on May 15 along with Westfield following the allegations but the Essex police later confirmed that the Pakistani cricketer will not face a criminal prosecution. The Essex police, however charged Westfield, who is now facing a criminal trial. Sources in the board said that the letter sent by Kaneria would be forwarded to the integrity committee who would decide when to call Kaneria for a hearing. Kaneria, who is Pakistan’s most successful spinner in test matches has not played international cricket since last summer and although he was picked for the Test series against South Africa in November 2010 but the PCB stopped him from boarding a flight to Dubai to join the team. He was also not given a new central contract by the PCB last month.
