"My name is Danish Kaneria and I admit that I was guilty of the two charges brought against me by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2012," Kaneria, 37, told Al Jazeera. "I have become strong enough to make this decision, because you cannot live a life with lies."
In the Al Jazeera interview, Kaneria said he had met Bhatt four years before the Essex game for which he and Westfield came under scrutiny. "In 2005 on a West Indies tour, my assistant manager introduced me to Anu Bhatt, because he was a Hindu and he was a cricket fan," Kaneria, who was the only Hindu in the Pakistan team at the time, said. "Then we were on a India tour and over there, 2008 it was I think, Anu Bhatt invited the whole team for dinner, so me and my wife and
other cricketers went to his house for the dinner."
Kaneria admitted to ignoring warnings from the ICC's ACU that Bhatt was a "suspicious guy". "[ACU] Came to Pakistan and told several cricketers and me that he is a suspicious guy and is involved in doing fixing," he said. "I regret very much, I didn't complain to the higher authorities, like English Cricket Board or ICC unit. I didn't inform or didn't tell them this guy is over here [in the UK].
"Mervyn used to tell me that he wants to become a rich cricketer. I was highly paid in Essex, and I was an international player at that time. And I was living a life, a very lavish life, so he also wanted to make money. I think he was targeted by Anu Bhatt and I think he fell into that temptation. Being an international cricketer and a senior cricketer, I should have taken it one step higher of telling Mervyn that this guy is suspicious.
"I want to apologise to Mervyn Westfield, my Essex team-mates, my Essex cricket club, my Essex cricket fans. I say sorry to Pakistan. If the ECB and ICC and other bodies would give me a second chance I can help to educate young people in cricket, teach them that if you do wrong you are finished like me."
Kaneria said that part of the reason he maintained his innocence at the time was that his father -
who died of cancer in 2013 - had been in poor health. "His health was getting worse and worse," Kaneria said. "I didn't have the courage to face him and tell him that I was wrong. He was a very, very proud guy. Very, very proud of me and what I did, representing Pakistan, representing my country."