LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman has been officially charged with ball-tampering in Sunday’s Pakistan Super League clash against Karachi Kings, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced.
The controversial incident took place in the final over when Karachi Kings needed 14 runs to win. Fakhar, along with captain Shaheen Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf, were seen in a brief discussion on the field. During the conversation, Fakhar and Rauf passed the ball between them several times.
The on-field umpire noticed the activity and immediately asked to inspect the ball from Rauf. After consulting with the square-leg umpire, the officials awarded five penalty runs to Karachi Kings and replaced the ball.
Penalty Proves Decisive as Karachi Wins Thriller
That five-run penalty turned out to be costly for Lahore Qalandars. Karachi Kings successfully chased down the target of 129 with three balls to spare. Abbas Afridi sealed the four-wicket victory by smashing a four and a six in the last over.
Fakhar Zaman strongly denied the charge during a disciplinary hearing conducted by match referee Roshan Mahanama. The PCB stated that another hearing will take place within the next 48 hours, after which the match referee will deliver his final verdict.
Shaheen Afridi, speaking at the post-match presentation, said the team would review the video footage carefully. “I don’t know about this yet. We’ll check the camera and discuss it properly,” he said.
If found guilty of ball-tampering for the first time in the PSL, Fakhar could face a ban of one or two matches.
Comparison with Past Scandals
This case has drawn comparisons to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal involving Australian players David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft in South Africa, which resulted in lengthy bans for the trio.
The incident has sparked heated debate among cricket fans across Pakistan. Many are waiting to see the final decision from the match referee.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has not commented further until the hearing process is complete. Fans and analysts will closely watch how the situation develops in the coming days.
