How a cricket spot-fixing probe fell apart: part 3 – the comical attempt to set up banned Pakistani Danish Kaneria
- The investigation team now go after the ex-Pakistan cricketer who was banned for spot-fixing, thinking he can lead them to other potentially corrupt players.
- They pose as potential sponsors of a fictitious Singapore tournament who are looking to recruit players.
In 2012, the BBC’s Panorama team, together with a private production company, embarked on a project to uncover corruption in cricket. The trail took them to India, where a man who goes by the name of Aneel Munawar said he had the ability to organise spot-fixing in matches, where the run rate can be doctored over a specified number of overs.
The Panorama investigation subsequently fizzled out and the production company then joined forces with a major UK broadsheet newspaper, which tried to organise a sting on an England player of Asian background.
When that failed, the team turned their attention to a player who had already been banned in the wake of a spot-fixing scandal in the hope that he would help recruit other cricketers. That also ended in tears.
In the third and final part of the series, we look at how Pakistani Danish Kaneria thought he found a way back into cricket after being handed a lifetime ban, only to discover he had been duped.
Danish Kaneria was serving a life ban for corruption in cricket. He was arrested on May 10, 2010 because of “irregularities” during a NatWest Pro40 League match in September 2009.
Although he was later cleared by police, the former Pakistan player was named in court during the spot-fixing trial of Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield as being the player who approached the English cricketer and suggested the fix.