Lahore Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman has been handed a two-match ban after being found guilty of ball-tempering during Lahore Qalandars' match against Karachi Kings on Sunday at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Fakhar was found to have breached Article 2.14 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to changing the condition of the ball in violation of Clause 41.3 of the PSL Playing Conditions.
"Fakhar Zaman has been suspended for two HBL PSL matches after he was found guilty of a Level 3 offence for breaching Article 2.14 of the applicable Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during the Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings match on Sunday," the PSL said in a media release.
"Match Referee Roshan Mahanama conducted the disciplinary hearing and made the determination after reviewing all evidence," the statement added.
The incident unfolded during a tense match against Karachi Kings on Sunday in Lahore. With Karachi requiring 14 runs in the final over, Lahore players, including Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf, were seen exchanging and handling the ball after a brief on-field discussion.
On-field umpires immediately intervened, suspecting that the ball’s condition had been altered. After inspection, they awarded five runs to Karachi and replaced the ball. Capitalising on those five runs, Karachi Kings claimed a four-wicket win with three balls to spare.