Lahore Qalandars’ Fakhar Zaman performs a shot through the Pakistan Tremendous League (PSL) Twenty20 match between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 26, 2026. — AFP
LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars batter Fakhar Zaman has been charged with a Stage 3 offence beneath Article 2.14 of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Code of Conduct for Gamers and Participant Help Personnel for allegedly breaching Article 41.3 of the taking part in situations, which prohibits any motion that alters the situation of the ball.
“Fakhar denied the charge levelled against him during a disciplinary hearing led by the match referee Roshan Mahanama,” the PCB mentioned.
“Another hearing is set to take place within the next 48 hours after which the match referee will share his verdict.”
The controversy unfolded shortly earlier than the ultimate over of Karachi Kings’ chase, when the on-field umpires examined the ball and dominated that its situation had been modified. Because of this, a five-run penalty was imposed on the fielding facet, lowering Karachi’s goal to 9 runs as an alternative of 14.
The incident got here after Fakhar, Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and quick bowler Haris Rauf have been concerned in a short dialogue, throughout which Fakhar and Rauf handed the ball between them. The umpire then approached Rauf and requested to see the ball earlier than, following session with the square-leg umpire, awarding the penalty and ordering the ball to be modified.
The penalty proved decisive as Abbas Afridi struck a 4 and a six to seal a four-wicket Karachi win with three balls to spare.
Shaheen mentioned Lahore would overview the footage of the incident. “I don’t know about this [ball tampering], and we’ll discuss. Five runs penalty…but we can’t say anything. We will see,” mentioned Shaheen on the post-match presentation.
Reflecting on the general efficiency, Shaheen maintained that his facet’s batting effort was respectable, pointing to the opposition’s wrestle whereas chasing a modest goal.
“It was a good game. We wanted to fight till the final ball, and the team tried. In both teams’ batting, it was the same. I feel our batting was fine, otherwise KK would’ve chased this in 15 overs,” the left-arm pacer careworn.
Fakhar might face a ban of 1 or two matches if discovered responsible of ball tampering for a primary offence within the PSL.
Hasan Ali fined
In a separate disciplinary improvement from the identical match, Karachi Kings quick bowler Hasan Ali was fined 10% of his match price for a Stage 1 breach of the PCB Code of Conduct for Gamers and Participant Help Personnel.
The pacer admitted the offence and accepted the sanction.
Hasan was discovered to have violated Article 2.5, which pertains to “using language, actions or gestures that disparage or could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his or her dismissal during a match”.
The incident occurred on the ultimate ball of the nineteenth over of Lahore Qalandars’ innings when Hasan dismissed Haseebullah Khan.
Lahore have been restricted to 128-9 of their 20 overs after opting to bat first. Abdullah Shafique top-scored with 33 off 24 balls, whereas Haseebullah Khan made 28 from 30 deliveries.
In reply, Muhammad Waseem led Karachi’s chase with 38 off 37 balls, whereas Saad Baig and Moeen Ali contributed 19 and 18 respectively.
