There have been a total of 345 players who have played international cricket for the Pakistan men’s cricket team. Only 7 of them were non-Muslims, and only two of them were Hindus.
Even though it is not surprising that in a Muslim-dominated country that is Pakistan, most of their men’s cricketers have been Muslims, one might have expected a few more non-Muslim cricketers.
We have seen how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have heavily promoted inclusivity in the England cricket team and motivated players like Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, and several non-Christian players previously to have feature for England.
Diversity in a team is a good sign of the positive and inclusive atmosphere in the group. This also sends out a good message across the nation that the minorities don’t get neglected and that the board and coaches will support those coming from minority backgrounds.
List of Hindu players to have played for Pakistan:
Only two Hindu players have played international cricket for the Pakistan men’s cricket team: Anil Dalpat and Danish Kaneria.
Born in Karachi in 1963, Anil Dalpat was the first Hindu to play Test cricket for Pakistan. He was a wicket-keeper batsman. Between 1984 and 1986, Anil featured in 9 Tests and 15 ODIs averaging 15 and 12 respectively with the bat in those two formats.
Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria is Anil Dalpat’s cousin, and he became the second Hindu men’s cricketer to play for Pakistan. Kaneria had a much longer career than Dalpat. The leg-spinner played 61 Tests, picking up 261 wickets with 15 five-wicket hauls. He also picked 15 wickets in 18 ODIs. Kaneria made his Test debut in 2000 and his last game for Pakistan was in 2010.
Back in 2019, former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar spoke in support of Kaneria, saying that Kaneria faced discrimination in the Pakistan team for being a Hindu.
“I used to get livid when anyone was discriminated on the basis of region or religion. A Hindu born in Pakistan is entitled to represent his country. When that Hindu (Kaneria) won us the Test series against England (in 2005), I chided my team-mates for mistreating him,” Akhtar said.
