NEW DELHI: Pakistan cricket has been rocked by a ball-tampering scandal in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The major controversy erupted during the match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings, putting captain Shaheen Afridi, opener Fakhar Zaman and fast bowler Haris Rauf under the scanner.The incident occurred in the final over of the match, with Karachi Kings needing 14 runs off six balls.Haris Rauf was set to bowl the last over, and just before it began, Afridi and Fakhar joined him for a brief discussion to chalk out a plan.What raised eyebrows was Fakhar appearing to be caught on camera altering the ball.On-field umpire Faisal Afridi then called for the ball, inspected it, and held a lengthy discussion with fellow umpire Sharfuddoula of Bangladesh.After deliberation, the umpires concluded that the ball had been deliberately altered and awarded five penalty runs to Karachi Kings, reducing the target to nine runs off six balls. The ball was also changed.Lahore Qalandars eventually lost the match by four wickets.‘UMPIRES NE BOLA SIDE MEIN HO JAAYEIN’After the game, Lahore Qalandars sent their overseas player Sikandar Raza to address the media in the post-match press conference, where questions around the controversy were inevitable.“Umpires ne hume bola tha ki aap side mein ho jaayein because they were talking with the third umpire. Exact reason toh unhi ke paas hoga. Agar aapko clear answer chahiye, you’ll have to ask the umpires jinke paas walkie-talkie thi ya phir third umpire se pooch sakte hain. Unhone bas itna hi kaha tha ki aap side mein ho jaayein. Humse sirf itni request ki gayi thi ki aap log apni field positions par khade rahein, aur captain ko bhi yahi bola gaya tha,” Raza said.“I can only speak for myself — meri taraf se kabhi bhi ball ki condition change karne ka koi intention nahi tha, not even to try. I remember I was trying to shine the ball ya thoda dry karne ki koshish kar raha tha, especially boundary ropes ke paas jahan thodi dew thi. Main long-on pe tha aur wahan thodi si dew thi, toh bas yeh kaha gaya tha ki ball ko shirt ke andar dry karne ki koshish na karein. So we started doing it with the sleeves,” he said.“Ab jo clips chal rahe hain aur jo allegations lag rahe hain, jab tak proper proof nahi aata, I think it’s a big decision to say something like this. Main abhi changing room mein gaya hoon, aur main yeh guarantee de sakta hoon ki mujhe kisi enquiry ke liye nahi bulaya gaya hai,” Raza added.FAKHAR DENIES BALL-TAMPERING CHARGESStar opener Fakhar Zaman was charged on Sunday 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. He 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 match referee is expected to hold another hearing within the next 48 hours before delivering a verdict.If the offence is confirmed, Zaman — and potentially the Lahore Qalandars as a team — could face serious penalties.
