Kaneria`s wait prolongs

Karachi: Pakistan`s Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria will have to wait for a few more days to find out if he gets the clearance to be considered for national selection again after the Sindh High Court reserved its judgement on his petition on Thursday.

Kaneria, who has not been selected to play for Pakistan since last October after he underwent an investigation in a spot-fixing case last year in England, has filed a petition in the high court challenging the Pakistan Cricket Board`s decision of not considering him for selection although he has been cleared by the Essex police in the investigations and by the International Cricket Council. "The two-member bench has reserved its judgment on the case," Tafazzul Rizvi, the legal advisor of the PCB, said. Rizvi on Thursday informed the court that they had tried to obtain the transcripts and tapes of the questioning that the Essex police conducted with Kaneria last year in England and had been told to get a court order in the United Kingdom. "I informed the court that Essex police have told us they can release the tapes and transcripts after we obtain a court order. I told the court that the PCB wanted Kaneria to bear the costs of this process," Rizvi said. "PCB has now challenged the jurisdiction of the Sindh high court to decide and I citied several examples of similar cases and we feel the jurisdiction lies with the Lahore high court," he added. The two-member bench of senior judge, Gulzar Ahmed and Imam Baksh Baloch reserved its judgement on the case after Kaneria`s lawyer made it clear that his client would not bear the expenses for getting the court order to secure the tapes and transcripts from Essex police. The PCB has maintained that its integrity committee cannot clear the leg spinner for national selection until and unless he submits the transcripts of his interview with the Essex police. Kaneria later told the media that he was confident of getting a favorable judgement from the court. "I have got clearance from the Essex police and the ICC and there is no justification for the PCB to not select me in the national team. I have suffered a lot as a person and as a player due to the PCB`s attitude and I went to court to get justice," he said. Kaneria said he had full faith in the court. "I have lost a lot of money in failed earnings because the PCB is not willing to select me for no justifiable reason," he added. Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan, has taken 261 Test wickets and last played for the national team in England in 2010. He, however, remains active on the domestic circuit. Rizvi said he expected the court to announce the judgement in three-day time. PTI