New Delhi: Veteran Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman has been suspended for two matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 for breaching the code of conduct on ball-tampering charges/changing the condition of the ball.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that match referee Roshan Mahanama found Zaman guilty of a level three offence, breaching Article 2.14 of the applicable Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the PSL fixture between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings at the Gadaffi Stadium. Lahore on Sunday.
The incident took place just before the start of the final over, when Zaman, while having a chat with skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf, was caught on camera scratching the ball.
After the incident came to light, the on-field umpires penalised Lahore Qalandars for five runs and changed the ball before the start of the final over of Karachi Kings’ innings.
Mahanama finds Zaman guilty after watching evidence
The charges were levelled by on-field Umpires Shahid Saikat and Faisal Khan Aafreedi, TV Umpire Asif Yaqoob, and fourth Umpire Tariq Rasheed.
Zaman denied any wrongdoing and contested the charge at a full disciplinary hearing in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
Match Referee Mahanama conducted the disciplinary hearing and made the final decision after reviewing all evidence and granting an opportunity of personal hearing to Zaman.
The verdict came hours after reports of Zaman’s ball-tampering during Pakistan’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 match against the USA spread like wildfire in media circles.
Other members present during the hearing were Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, team director Sameen Rana and team manager Farooq Anwar.
Lahore Qalandars next face Multan Sultans on April 3 at the Gaddafi Stadium, followed by a clash against Islamabad United on April 9 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
In a separate incident, Lahore Qalandars management fined captain Shaheen Shah Afridi one million rupees for breaching the security protocol of the PSL at the team hotel in Lahore.
The news of Afridi’s fine came just hours after PCB’s disciplinary committee fined fast bowler Naseem Shah a whopping 20 million rupees for a controversial tweet which breached the conditions of his central contract with the Board.