The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Kaneria hopes to be in the scheme of things for World Cup

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Thursday, Feb 09, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Kaneria hopes to be in the scheme of things for World Cup

Karachi: Danish Kaneria has been left to cool his heels while Pakistan's juggernaut moves around the country in its one-day campaign against India. However, the leg-spinner has no doubt he would be in frame when the 2007 World Cup beckons in the Caribbean.

``For one, I feel there is a role for specialists even in one-day arena and two, the wickets in the Caribbean are to my liking,'' Kaneria said on Wednesday.

Kaneria has chosen his moment to stake his claims after Malinga Bandara, another leg-spinner bowled Sri Lanka into the finals of the VB series on Tuesday.

Kaneria's optimism presently is not shared by the Pakistan selectors who have left him out of the team for the first three ODIs. That he has been provided only 15 one-day games in the last four years also probably conveys the fact that the selectors are yet to make up their mind on him.

Would force a rethink

Kaneria, however, has little doubt that he would force a rethink in the one-day field as he has done in Test cricket in the last three years.

``I broke into the Test ranks in 2000-01 season but it was only in the last three years that I have been a regular. It wasn't possible to ignore me after I took plenty of wickets and performed in different conditions,'' he said. Since August 2003, Kaneria has played 24 of his 34 Tests and picked up 109 wickets, including seven five-wicket hauls.

He performed creditably in conditions as different as in India, Australia, West Indies and England. Words of praise have come from esteemed quarters. Bill Lawry gushed that he was one of the finest leg-spinners to come to Australia in a long time.

Adam Gilchrist is mystified by his wrong 'un and Brian Lara confessed he could not read him.

In 10 Tests against Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies and India, he has bagged no less than 60 wickets! — PTI

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