The still from an ILT20 match. (X)
Cricket fans around the world who follow the Pakistan Super League were met with a rude shock after visuals of Fakhar Zaman getting involved in ball tampering during a recent match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings went viral. Subsequently, Zaman was charged with altering the conditions of the ball, as confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board in a statement on Monday.
The incident took place before the 19th over of the match, with Karachi needing 14 runs to win. Fakhar, Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi, and fast bowler Haris Rauf were involved in a brief discussion, during which Fakhar and Rauf passed the ball between them.
The umpires present on the field asked Rauf to hand over the ball. Following consultations with the square‑leg umpire, the officials awarded five penalty runs to Karachi and ordered the ball to be changed.
Amidst this episode, a visual from an ILT20 match featuring Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman is going viral on X, where the left-handed batter can be seen doing something to the ball. Multiple fans are deeming it as an attempt by Fakhar to alter the conditions of the ball. Check out the picture here:
Notably, both Naseem and Fakhar are part of the Desert Vipers, which won the ILT20 title for the first time.
“Fakhar denied the charge levelled against him during a disciplinary hearing led by the match referee Roshan Mahanama,” the PCB said.
“Another hearing is set to take place within the next 48 hours, after which the match referee will share his verdict.”
Afridi said they would look at video footage of the incident.
“I don’t know about this, and we’ll see if it’s there in the camera and discuss it,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Fakhar could face a ban of one or two matches if found guilty of ball tampering for a first offence in the PSL.
Australian trio David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were handed lengthy bans by Cricket Australia following a 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
with inputs from agency
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