Danish Kaneria will end his career as the highest wicket-taking spinner for Pakistan - itself an achievement - but he will probably be remembered more as the cricketer who was banned for life by the ECB after being found guilty of corruption in a spot-fixing case. Kaneria took 276 international wickets and more than 1000 first-class ones, but the spot-fixing saga has blotted his CV irretrievably.

As a player Kaneria had several things going for him. Only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan, Kaneria had many admirable traits, many necessary to make a good legspinner. His height purchased good bounce - though not always flight - and he could turn the ball significantly. Though the googly was overexposed, Richie Benaud once reckoned it to be among the best-disguised he had seen. Above all he had perseverance, and right or wrong, had served often as shock and stock bowler.

But something was missing - the unknown quantity that makes great leggies great. It was not so much in Kaneria's tools but in his persona, and a peculiar lack of guile, especially if he was to be compared to countrymen such as Abdul Qadir and Mushtaq Ahmed, both of whom had wonderful presence. In turn, Kaneria also lacked a good captain, or always good supporting bowlers at the other end. Latterly he suffered the lack of even an able wicketkeeper.

His best period was in the years after 2004, when he produced critical spells around the world, against Sri Lanka, England and West Indies, and lionhearted ones against Australia and India. But he didn't kick on, and in his last year for Pakistan his strike rate expanded alarmingly.

Then came the corruption charge. Kaneria and Mervyn Westfield, two Essex bowlers, were found to have underperformed in a 2009 Pro40 match against Durham. Westfield pleaded guilty in January 2012, while the verdict on Kaneria was passed by a disciplinary panel in June that year, thus practically ending his career.
Osman Samiuddin and ESPNcricinfo staff

• November 29, 2000
  Tough debut
  • Makes Test debut in the second Test against England in Faisalabad. Takes 2 for 89 and goes wicketless in the second innings. Tough initiation into Test cricket on a lifeless pitch. He's only the second Hindu to play Tests for Pakistan, after his cousin Anil Dalpat.
    
• August 29-31, 2001
  Wicket aplenty
  • Match haul of 12 for 94 against Bangladesh in the Asian Test Championship in Multan. Takes six wickets in each innings, his first match-winning performance.
    
• May 20, 2003
  Success in the shorter version
  • Takes 3 for 31 in a one-day international against New Zealand in Dambulla, his best ODI bowling figures to date. Helps Pakistan snatch a low-scorer.
    
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• October 17-21, 2003
  South Africa humbled
  • Takes 5 for 46 in the second innings to set up Pakistan's eight-wicket win in the first Tests against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium.
    
• October 28-November 1, 2004
  Sri Lanka flummoxed
  • Takes a ten-wicket haul, including 7 for 118 in the second innings, to help Pakistan to a six-wicket win in Karachi and square the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. He then signs a new two-year deal with Essex.
    
• December 2004-January 2005
  More wickets but no joy
  • Takes his first five-wicket haul outside the subcontinent. At the MCG, he toils nearly 40 overs for figures of 5 for 125 but Pakistan are thrashed by nine wickets. He follows it up with an innings haul of 7 for 188 at the spin-friendly SCG. The Test ends on a sour not when he's fined his entire match fee for showing dissent.
    
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• March 2005
  Fine display in India
  • In the 2005 tour of India, Kaneria finishes the overall leading wicket-taker with 19 scalps at 31.52. He takes two five-wicket hauls, one of which comes in Pakistan's series-leveling win in Bangalore.
    
• June 3-7, 2005
  Starring in the Caribbean
  • Takes 5 for 46 at Sabina Park to help Pakistan level the two-Test series in the West Indies. It's Pakistan's first Test win in the region since 1988.
    
• September 2005
  Essex's hero
  • Takes 16 wickets in ten one-day games to help Essex to the National League Division One title. But he's still in and out of the Pakistan ODI side.
    
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• January 19-22, 2007
  South Africa conquered again
  • After a lukewarm 2006, Kaneria starts the new year in style with a match haul of 7 for 141 in Port Elizabeth to help Pakistan to a five-wicket win. His 3 for 36 in the first innings bundles South Africa out for 124. Recalled to the ODI side for the World Cup.
    
• October 2007
  Achieving the 200-wicket milestone
  • During the home series against South Africa, Kaneria reaches the milestone of 200 Test wickets and is the country's leading wicket-taker since 2000.
    
• December 2009
  Proving a point
  • Takes 13 wickets in two Tests in New Zealand to re-establish himself as the spin-spearhead for Pakistan.
    
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• January 2010
  Five in Sydney
  • Despite numerous misses by Kamran Akmal, Kaneria manages to take five in a match which will forever be remembered for the manner in which Pakistan contrived to lose a Test they should have won easily.
    
• April-May 2010
  The spot-fixing allegation
  • Kaneria is in the spotlight for his alleged involvement in a spot-fixing controversy in a Pro40 match against Durham in 2009. He is allegedly questioned by the Essex police, but denies any involvement.
    
• May-Aug 2011
  Wrangles with the PCB
  • Kaneria's international career goes into limbo as the PCB asks him to appear before an integrity committee. His continued non-clearance with the committee makes Kaneria take the PCB to court.
    
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• April 5, 2012
  Charged by the ECB
  • The ECB announces that it will bring disciplinary proceedings against Kaneria and and Mervyn Westfield in the spot-fixing controversy.
    
• June 22, 2012
  Banned for life
  • Kaneria is banned for life from any cricket under the jurisdiction of the ECB, after being found guilty of corruption by a disciplinary panel.
    
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