Essex and England legend Graham Gooch said he is excited at Danish Kaneria’s return to county cricket this year, even though there are doubts about his release by the PCB.

The Pakistan Cricket Board are currently assessing their policy on whether their top players should be allowed to compete in county cricket, and while players like Kaneria, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul wait for answers, Kaneria would appear to be one man who has taken as much from English cricket as he has given.

“It's not for me to comment on PCB policy but what I would say is that Danish is the latest in a long line of quality overseas players we have had from Ken McEwan, Allan Border, Mark Waugh and Stuart Law, so we are looking forward to Danish returning to Essex this year,” former player, coach and now specialist batting coach Gooch told Bigstarcricket.

“He has had a positive affect on the team but I think the club and the players around him like Ronny Irani, Andy Flower and Alastair Cook have also had a positive affect on him so it has been mutually beneficial.”

Pakistan greats down the years such as Sarfraz Nawaz (Northants), Mushtaq Mohammed (Northants), Imran Khan (Worcestershire and Sussex), Javed Miandad (Sussex and Glamorgan) and Wasim Akram (Lancashire) all honed their techniques and games in English county cricket. The international schedule has limited player availability in more recent times, though.

Essex have been impressed with all facets of leg-spinner Kaneria’s game since he joined them in 2004.

“There are many things I like about him,” Gooch said. “He’s a very enthusiastic cricketer; he’s always keen to get involved with the team in terms of practice and preparation and he is dedicated to his practice and preparation.

“From what I have seen and I like about him when he gets on to the field is that he has plenty of fight about him. He is not only a quality wicket-taker who has all the variations that a world-class leg-spinner would need but he is a competitor. He looks to compete.

“He shines when there is a challenge, when a quality batsman is looking to take him on. Some bowlers go into their shell when a top player gets on top but not Danish. He can be cocky in those situations but I don’t mind a bit of cockiness as you need to be confident when playing cricket at the top level.”

India left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan said he felt it beneficial playing a full season of county cricket at Worcestershire in 2006 as it helped his fitness and rhythm.

The PCB are expected to decide on their county policy at a meeting in Lahore on March 9.