Fakhar Zaman faces a possible two-match ban after being charged with ball tampering during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) fixture. The incident occurred in Lahore Qalandars' match against Karachi Kings on Sunday. Karachi beat Lahore by four wickets in the game.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a statement on the matter stating that Zaman was found guilty of a level-III offence which is punishable with a maximum two-match ban, according to the rules of the league.
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The incident took place in the last over of Karachi's chase. As Haris Rauf was gearing up to bowl the final over, on-field umpire Faisal Afridi took the ball away from the pacer suspecting ball tampering. Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi had already exchanged the ball between themselves before it had been passed to Rauf.
Faisal then had a lengthy discussion with Sharfuddoula, the other on-field umpire, and the two mutually agreed that the ball had been tempered with. As a result, the ball was replaced before the final over got underway.
The two umpires also punished Qalandars with five penalty runs. Karachi benefited massively from this decision as it brought down the required runs from 14 to 9. Additionally, Khushdil Shah and Azam Khan, the two Karachi batters were given the chance to select the replacement ball.
Clause 41.3 of the PSL playing conditions permits the on-field umpires to "make frequent and irregular inspections of the ball." Additionally, they also have the right to "immediately inspect the ball if they suspect anyone of attempting to change the condition of the ball."
When asked about the incident in the post-match ceremony, Afridi said the team will look into the matter.
The 2026 season of the PSL got underway on March 26 and will run up until May 3. The matches are only being played in Lahore and Karachi and behind the closed doors due to the ongoing Middle East crisis.
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