Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan captain on Tuesday opined that the life ban imposed on leg-spinner Danish Kaneria by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is too harsh. Kaneria was given life ban by the ECB last week for his involvement in the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing case. The right-arm spinner was banned for life from all forms of cricket under ECB jurisdiction after being found guilty of corruption by a disciplinary panel. “Cricket was Danish’s profession and whilst he has erred, I don’t think the disciplinary panel should have given him a ban for life. I think a ban of 5 years like that imposed upon Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif would have been the right punishment,” Mushtaq was quoted as saying by PakPassion.net “I think Danish is well within his rights to challenge the life ban through whatever means are available to him as I think a life ban is an over the top punishment,” he added. The anti-corruption code of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) states that decisions based on a domestic board’s regulations should be followed by all cricket boards around the world, including the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which is yet to complete its own integrity committee hearing.
