Kaneria seeks selectors' explanation on Champions Trophy axe

New Delhi, Sep 18 (UNI) Surprised and disappointed at being dropped for the Champions Trophy in India, Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria says that he is still awaiting an official explanation for the axe despite a reasonably good performance in the recently concluded tour of England.

''Nobody has explained to me why I wasn't picked,'' Kaneria wrote in his column for a website.

''I feel I bowled quite well in the Test series in England and picked up 13 wickets, which could easily have been 20 if luck went my way,'' he added, referring to his performance in the tour where Pakistan lost the Test series but managed to draw the ODIs.

Kaneria said he was hoping to be picked for the team on the basis of his good show in India last year and the selectors' decision has come as a surprise to him.

''I hoped things might be different for the Champions Trophy in India. I bowled well in those conditions last year when we were in India and I was optimistic that my performances there would have been taken into account for the Champions Trophy,'' he pointed out.

The leg-spinner demanded that his role be expanded to both forms of the game so that he could be as productive as Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh in their respective sides.

''Harbhajan and Murali are playing both forms of the game and I want the same,'' he said.

''I don't want to become known as only a Test player. It is my target that one day I will be the best bowler in the world in Test and one-day cricket,'' he added.

Describing himself an ambitious cricketer, Kaneria said despite the disappointment of being dropped, he has not given up hopes and would be striving to make himself a worthy contender for future selections.

''Of course I respect the difficult job the selectors have as teams are only allowed to take 14 players. But I am a very ambitious cricketer and I am very disappointed. I will be working even harder at my game, keeping myself fit and preparing for the next series,'' he said.

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