The Pakistan Cricket Board has banned Fakhar Zaman for 2 matches after he was found guilty of ball tampering. The incident happened on March 29 during a match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League 2026. Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi handed the ball to Haris Rauf to deliver the last over of the match, with Kings needing 14 to win from 6 balls.
At that moment, Fakhar Zaman took the ball from Haris and tried to damage it by rubbing it secretly in his hand. The umpires, Shahid Saikat and Faisal Khan Aafreedi on the field, along with TV umpire Asif Yaqoob and fourth umpire Tariq Rasheed, noticed it. They changed the ball and gave 5 penalty runs to Karachi Kings.
Fakhar Zaman Banned for Ball Tampering in PSL 2026
It resulted in Qalandars losing by 4 wickets with 3 balls still left. After the match, Fakhar denied any wrongdoing. This led to a disciplinary hearing conducted by match referee Roshan Mahanama with Shaheen, Qalandars team director Sameen Rana, and team manager Farooq Anwar present as well. However, things didn’t go as Fakhar or Qalandars would’ve expected.
“Fakhar Zaman has been suspended for two HBL PSL matches after he was found guilty of a Level 3 offence for breaching Article 2.14 of the applicable Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings match on Sunday. Match Referee Roshan Mahanama conducted the disciplinary hearing and made the determination after reviewing all evidence,” PSL said in a media release.
Fakhar Zaman has been found guilty of a Level 3 offence under the Pakistan Super League 2026 code of conduct. He has been handed a 2-match ban and will miss Qalandars’ upcoming fixtures against Multan Sultans on April 3 in Lahore and Islamabad United on April 9 in Karachi. He has 48 hours to appeal the verdict.