LAHORE: Strong pressure from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to keep banned Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria out of the game, is one of the reasons behind the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not urging Rashid Latif to change his decision of declining the chief selector’s job.

Well-informed sources told Dawn that the ECB was not happy with the news of the PCB job offer to Rashid because it reckoned the former Pakistan captain had been blunt in supporting Kaneria on the subject of life ban imposed on the bowler by the ECB in a fixing scam.

Kaneria was banned by the ECB for spot-fixing in an English county game held in 2009. Since then Danish has been struggling to get the ban removed and throughout his efforts Rashid, considering the bowler has been trapped in the scam, has backed him.

Sources said after receiving a negative response from the ECB, which is now one of the ‘Big Three’ countries in world cricket, the PCB has given the cold shoulder to Rashid, considering the stance will be enough to force him to quit because he is known as a short-tempered individual.

Moreover, sources revealed, amid pressure at home on Kaneria’s life ban issue, PCB chairman Najam Sethi also tried to discuss the matter during the last ICC meeting but ECB chairman Giles Clarke strongly protested the move, and even threatened to boycott the meeting.

In a recent incident, the ECB also raised an objection when Kaneria was seen playing in the US with some Pakistan cricketers. The ECB also persuaded the ICC to take a stern action against the USA Cricket Association, and the cricketers playing alongside Danish.

As a result, the PCB has sent a charge-sheet to its marketing director Badar Rafai who was also spotted at that cricket event held in Houston, along with Pakistan players Wahab Riaz, Nasir Jamshed, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq and Shahzaib Hasan. Sources said Wahab had sought apology while remaining players are giving clarification about their innocence.