Fakhar Zaman will challenge the charges levied against him which could see the batter being banned for up to two matches in PSL 2026. Image Credit: X
The 11th season of the Pakistan Super League is off to a rocky start, to say the least. Having marred with multiple controversies, the biggest row for the league came during the sixth match of the season.
Defending champions, Lahore Qalandars, clashed against Karachi Kings in what was heading towards a thriller up until the 19th over of the innings. With 14 runs left to defend, the Qalandars, led by Shaheen Afridi, faced a penalty of five runs for ball tampering before the final over. Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen met with Haris Rauf before the over, and for brief moments, each of the three players was seen handling the ball.
After the penalty runs were awarded to Karachi Kings, they went down to chase the required nine runs in the next three balls to continue their winning momentum. Following the match, a disciplinary hearing was held, headed by the match referee, Roshan Mahanama. The hearing concluded with Zaman being charged with a Level-III offence.
Fakhar Zaman denied the ball-tampering allegations against him. The left-handed batter will be part of another hearing where he will contest the charges levelled against him. If proven guilty, Fakhar could face a ban of at least one game, which could be increased to up to two according to the playing conditions of the Pakistan Super League. This being his first offence, the 35-year-old will walk away with a maximum of a two-match ban.
Fakhar Zaman, who could be out for two games, will be a massive miss for the defending champions. Zaman was named the player of the match in the season opener as the Lahore Qalandars defeated Hyderabad Kingsmen. In the following clash against Karachi Kings, Zaman failed to score big and was dismissed for a single-digit score.
Mohammad Farooq is one of the young talents in the Lahore Qalandars. The 22-year-old has played 15 first-class matches, scoring close to 700 runs, averaging 31.68. In T20s, his form has not much to write about, having scored only 69 runs in seven games.
Apart from Farooq, Asif Ali, who missed out on the previous game, could replace Zaman. The right-handed batter bats in the middle order. Zaman’s absence could open up a spot at the top of the innings, allowing each batter to move slightly up in the order.
While reports have emerged that Fakhar Zaman could face a ban of two years, there is no confirmation about the possible penalties Shaheen Afridi could face. The Qalandars’ skipper, like Fakhar, denied ball-tampering allegations when asked about it during the post-match presentation. During the post-match conference, Shaheen said, “I don’t know about this (ball tampering), and we’ll discuss. Five runs penalty. But we can’t say anything. We will see.”
Shaheen Afridi’s role as the captain of Lahore Qalandars will come under scrutiny. While there is still no confirmation as to whether the left-arm pacer will be banned or not, there are speculations over his captaincy.
No confirmations have come as to whether Shaheen Afridi will continue to lead Lahore Qalandars or not. However, if Fakhar is found guilty and accepts the charges, Shaheen could very well face some penalties as well.
The levelling of any possible sanctions on the team Lahore Qalandars or any of its players is not defined in the playing conditions for the Pakistan Super League. The players from Qalandars, particularly Haris Rauf, would be in line for penalties if the team is found guilty of tampering with the ball.
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