Fakhar Zaman, who plays for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, has been charged with a Level 3 offense under Article 2.14 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the game against Karachi Kings. Fakhar allegedly violated Article 41.3 of the playing conditions, which prohibits any action that alters the condition of the ball.
What happened?
However, he has denied the breach during a hearing conducted by Match Referee Roshan Mahanama. A follow-up hearing is scheduled to be conducted within 48 hours of the game. If found guilty, Fakhar can face up to a 1-2 match ban.
The controversy occurred before the final over of Karachi’s chase, when the umpires decided to change the ball and hand Lahore a 5-run penalty. This proved costly for Lahore as the deficit in what was already a low-scoring game was reduced to just 9 runs. Karachi’s Abbas Afridi made light work of it with a four and a six to replace Lahore at the top of the table.
Player reactions
Following the game, Qalandars’ captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, was unaware of the incident.
“I don’t know about this [ball tampering], and we’ll discuss. Five runs penalty…but we can’t say anything. We will see,” said Shaheen after the match.
Lahore’s Sikandar Raza also maintained a similar stance, leaving it up for the umpires to clarify the situation.
“I think the exact communication is yet to be conveyed. The umpires asked us to move aside as they were speaking with the other umpire. When we asked for reasons, they told us to step aside for the time being,” Raza said at the post-match press conference.
“The exact answer can be better provided by the umpires themselves, or the other umpire who had the walkie-talkie,” he added.
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