PCB endorses Kaneria ban

The Pakistan Cricket Board o Monday endorsed a life ban imposed on Danish Kaneria by the England board over a spot-fixing scandal.
The Integrity Committee of the PCB met recently at Gaddafi Stadium to review, among other things, the case of Danish Kaneria and backed the ban imposed by English cricket on the spin bowler and said that the leg-spinner will remain suspended pending his appeal.
The meeting was presided by Chairman PCB Ch. Zaka Ashraf. Chief Operating Officer of PCB, Director General, Director International Cricket Operations, Legal Advisor of PCB and a former judge of the high court attended the meeting. The 31-year-old was banned for life from any cricket under the jurisdiction of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after being found guilty of corruption by a disciplinary panel.
Essex paceman Mervyn Westfield, who was jailed in February after admitting he had accepted £6,000 to under-perform during a Pro40 match between Essex and Durham in 2009, had named Kaneria as the link between bookmakers and players.
Under International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, sanctions on any player from any member country apply in all other member countries, a rule which the game’s governing body said is in place “to stamp out corruption”.
The PCB said its integrity committee had endorsed the ban imposed by the ECB and will enforce it while Kaneria’s appeal is considered.
“Till the matter is finally concluded by ECB’s Appeal Panel, the integrity committee decided that Kaneria will not be eligible to play any cricket match, or participate in any cricket event/activity in Pakistan,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The committee deliberated upon the recent ban imposed by Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) of English and Wales Cricket Board consisting of independent adjudicators against Mr. Kaneria and its implementation in Pakistan. The committee discussed in detail the ICC and PCB Anti-Corruption codes under which Pakistan Cricket Board is bound to recognize, respect and enforce the ban in it’s respective jurisdiction. It was also brought to the knowledge of the committee that Mr. Kaneria intends to appeal against the decision of the Cricket Discipline Commission. After legal evaluation of the matter the committee agreed that any final decision should only be taken once the outcome of appeal by Mr. Kaneria was known.”
“Keeping in view this aspect, and in the light of the decision by CDC of ECB dated 22nd June 2012, the facts of which are being considered in detail by the Integrity Committee, and till the matter is finally concluded by ECB’s Appeal Panel, the Integrity Committee decided that Mr. Danish Kaneria will not be eligible to play any cricket match, or participate in any cricket event/activity in Pakistan,” the statement added.
Kaneria took 261 wickets in 61 Tests — the most by a Pakistani spinner in all Tests — but has not played in international cricket since the tour of England in 2010. He was not considered for selection in the national team owing to the suspicions on him in the spot-fixing case.