I do not think Kaneria’s career during his playing days were impacted due to religion. However, the bit about social ostracism could be true.
Him being from Sindh though, could also have been an issue, given the usual Punjab v Sindh issue in the Pakistani team.
You need to remember that from the 90s onwards, most of cricketers coming into the Pakistani were not from middle class and upper class backgrounds. They were mainly from small villages, where people are not as polished. So it was not uncommon for them to socially ostracise others due to their religion. This would be absent in the players coming from middle class backgrounds from cities like Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, IK etc.
Now, as for India, i will write a detailed reply why this hasn’t happened so far in India. Also answering the question that is going on with regards to Azhar.
In India, until recently, has been a middle class sport. Most cricketers have a decent education and don’t come from poverty stricken.
The traditional Indian middle class (till early 00s) had always been educated and were not impacted by the issues like social ostracism of religious minorities or different castes. These cases used to happen in the poorer classes. Even the riots in the 90s were mainly triggered by the poorer class. Thus, this problem did not exist in the 90s and 00s. Thus you will find lots of Muslim captains and national leaders, including 2 presidents till 00s.
Thus, Azhar’s claim of being targeted for being a religious minority is baseless. He was given the most high profile position Indian cricket, and he abused the power. He was banned for life along with many others. It was overturned because the evidence could not be presented. However, it was very obvious that he was involved in corruption and was rightly banned. Also, IIRC, his comments about him being targeted came after he got into politics. It’s obvious that this was done for votes. India had also banned vice captain Jadeja. So it’s nothing do with religion, but him being corrupt. BCCI has always been strict with corrupt players and this was just another example of that.
Nowadays, with lots of traditionally poor class people becoming middle class, there will be some religious issues. The poorer someone is the more religious they are. So these people from poorer classes bring some of their religious nonsense into the middle class.
However, I still believe these problems will not occur in Indian cricket, unless Modi wins another election. That’s because
1. BCCI is a very professional organisation which ensures its image is well maintained. They ensure that the cricketers are well educated and reprimands them when they step out of line. Eg. The Pandya episode, which I didn’t think was a big deal
2. Other than the Pakistan issue, govt of India does not meddle in the workings of the BCCI
3. BCCI has not had any history of religious persecution.
4. Most of middle class is still largely secular, and there are 2 things that a middle class person loves - cricket and Bollywood. Salman’s ridiculous movies are still huge blockbuster.
These issues might crop up in politics and government organisations, but cricket, Bollywood and Private corporations will be free of these religious issues.
Now, if Modi gets re-elected again in 2024, then this may change.
