Former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria is in the news these days, he has again accused the Pakistani team of discriminating against him for being a Hindu. Kaneria, the second Hindu to play for Pakistan, has alleged that former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi tortured him a lot. Kaneria alleged that if he wants to progress in cricket, there is always pressure on him to convert to Islam. Although Kaneria was the second Hindu cricketer to play for Pakistan, do you know who was the first Pakistani Hindu to represent the country at the international level? He also has close connection with Kaneria...
Who is Anil Dalpat?
Anil Dalpat is a former Pakistani cricketer who made history by becoming the first Hindu to represent Pakistan in international cricket. He played as a wicketkeeper-batsman and was a part of the Pakistan national cricket team. Hoeever the Anil Dalpat's international career was short. He was the part of team from March 1984 to February 1985, during which he played nine Test matches for Pakistan. He was selected for the national side after the retirement of Wasim Bari.
An interesting fact is that Danish Kaneria, is the first cousin of Anil Dalpat. During the 1983-84 Pakistan domestic season, Anil Dalpat achieved a remarkable feat by recording 69 dismissals behind the wicket. This number of dismissals is considered a record for a single season in Pakistan's domestic cricket.
After his retirement from cricket, Anil Dalpat pursued a coaching career for a period in Canada before transitioning into a business career. By looking to his cricket statistics, we find that he scored 167 runs and made 25 wicketkeeping dismissals in Test cricket. In first-class cricket, he scored 2556 runs and He recorded 430 dismissals behind the wicket as a wicketkeeper.