Karachi Kings took a brutal dig at Lahore Qalandars after defeating them in a Pakistan Super League match that was marred by a ball-tampering controversy. Pakistan’s prolific batter Fakhar Zaman, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza have denied ball-tampering charges stemming from the Pakistan Super League match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium. The 35-year-old Zaman was charged on Sunday night by match referee Roshan Mahanama with a Level 3 offence under Article 2.14 of the PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.
Zaman was found to have violated Article 41.3 of the PSL playing conditions, which prohibits any action that alters the condition of the ball.
Appearing before the former Sri Lankan cricketer, Zaman denied the charges against him.
The charge relates to an incident just before the final over of the Karachi Kings’ innings, when they needed 14 runs to win. Zaman was seen in discussion with Haris Rauf and Qalandars captain Afridi before the over. Shortly thereafter, umpire Faisal Afridi requested the ball and, after inspecting it with his colleague, determined that its condition had been altered.
After the win, Karachi Kings wrote on X: “It was a different BALL game.” The word ‘BALL’ was written in all capitals, signifying a dig at the controversy.
The match referee is expected to hold another hearing within the next 48 hours before delivering a verdict.
The umpires penalised Qalandars five runs for altering the condition of the ball and subsequently replaced it. This left Karachi Kings needing nine runs in the final over, which they successfully chased down.
All-rounder Abbas Afridi sealed the victory by hitting Rauf for a four and a six after the bowler had delivered a wide.
If the match referee confirms that the ball was tampered with, Zaman – and potentially the Lahore Qalandars as a team – could face serious penalties.
Afridi insisted on Monday that he didn’t know anything about the condition of the ball being changed.
“I don’t know if the condition of the ball changed, but it was disappointing to see the umpires’ decision,” he said.
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