In an interview to a news channel on October 25, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria identified himself as a “sanatani” and said it was his duty to speak against atrocities on Hindus. He was replying to a question on alleged religious discrimination against him during his days in the Pakistan team – a claim first made in 2019 by his former teammate Shoaib Akhtar.
In the interview, Kaneria went on to criticise Pakistani cricketers for offering namaaz on the field, hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defended chants of “Jai Shree Ram” by Indian supporters at a match against Pakistan and made a pitch for “Akhand Bharat” – a Hindutva concept that envisages annexing neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh into India.
Kaneria’s career ended in ignominy after he was given a lifetime ban by the England and Wales Cricket Board for fixing matches in county cricket. However, social media has allowed him another chance at fame.
With 1.38 lakh followers on Twitter and 4.24 lakh subscribers on YouTube, his popularity on social media is part of a trend of Pakistani social media personalities looking to make inroads into the huge Indian audience by posting content that show India and even the Modi government in good…
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