Kaneria case against PCB adjourned till October 20

Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria's case against the PCB in the Sindh High Court has been adjourned till October 20. During the September 27 hearing in the case, Kaneria consented to allow the board to ask the British Crown Prosecution Services for the tapes of an investigation by the Essex police. Kaneria had been questioned regarding a case involving spot-fixing allegations during a Pro40 match for his county Essex.

Though Kaneria was not charged in the spot-fixing case, in which his Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield faced criminal proceedings, he has not been cleared to play for Pakistan since the incident. Kaneria had filed a petition against the PCB over his non-clearance on July 2. During a hearing on August 18, he had admitted that tapes of the investigation in Essex existed and it was decided that they would be produced before the court on September 27. Kaneria's lawyer Mohammad Farogh Naseem had said the tapes were in the UK with Kaneria's British lawyer Steve Haurigan. .

During the September 27 hearing it was decided that the PCB would write to the CPS to ask for the tapes or their transcripts. The PCB's lawyer Taffazul Rizvi argued that though Kaneria was not charge with spot-fixing, his integrity was under the scanner and therefore his clearance would only be possible after scrutiny the of the tapes.

The PCB's integrity committee had asked Kaneria to produce transcripts of the investigation before the case had been filed began but his lawyers had maintained it was not possible as the transcripts were still part of an ongoing investigation in the UK. Before seeking legal recourse, Kaneria had appeared several times before the integrity committee to gain clearance and had submitted various financial records and documents, but had not managed to satisfy its members. He last met the committee on August 15, along with Shoaib Malik, and though Malik got clearance after that meeting and was on Pakistan's tour of Zimbabwe, Kaneria's wait continued.

"I am desperate to play and am missing top cricket," Kaneria told ESPNCricinfo after the September 27 hearing. "Of course I feel frustrated but I am optimistic about my career. I chose the legal path for which I feel no regret as I see it as the only way to get myself clear from the stigma."