Lahore Qalandars\u2019 batter denies charge after five-run penalty helps Karachi complete a four-wicket win
\n LAHORE
\nLahore Qalandars batter Fakhar Zaman has been charged with a Level 3 offence under Article 2.14 of the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel for allegedly breaching Article 41.3 of the playing conditions, which prohibits any action that alters the condition of the ball.
\n\u201cFakhar denied the charge levelled against him during a disciplinary hearing led by the match referee Roshan Mahanama,\u201d the PCB said.
\n\u201cAnother hearing is set to take place within the next 48 hours after which the match referee will share his verdict.\u201d
\nThe controversy unfolded shortly before the final over of Karachi Kings\u2019 chase, when the on-field umpires examined the ball and ruled that its condition had been changed. As a result, a five-run penalty was imposed on the fielding side, reducing Karachi\u2019s target to nine runs instead of 14.
\nThe incident came after Fakhar, Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf were involved in a brief discussion, during which Fakhar and Rauf passed the ball between them. The umpire then approached Rauf and asked to see the ball before, following consultation with the square-leg umpire, awarding the penalty and ordering the ball to be changed.
\nThe penalty proved decisive as Abbas Afridi struck a four and a six to seal a four-wicket Karachi win with three balls to spare.
\nShaheen said Lahore would review the footage of the incident. \u201cI don\u2019t know about this [ball tampering], and we\u2019ll discuss. Five runs penalty…but we can\u2019t say anything. We will see,\u201d said Shaheen at the post-match presentation.
\nReflecting on the overall performance, Shaheen maintained that his side\u2019s batting effort was respectable, pointing to the opposition\u2019s struggle while chasing a modest target.
\n\u201cIt was a good game. We wanted to fight till the final ball, and the team tried. In both teams\u2019 batting, it was the same. I feel our batting was fine, otherwise KK would\u2019ve chased this in 15 overs,\u201d the left-arm pacer stressed.
\nFakhar could face a ban of one or two matches if found guilty of ball tampering for a first offence in the PSL.
\nHasan Ali fined
\nIn a separate disciplinary development from the same match, Karachi Kings fast bowler Hasan Ali was fined 10% of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.
\n The pacer admitted the offence and accepted the sanction.
\nHasan was found to have violated Article 2.5, which relates to \u201cusing language, actions or gestures that disparage or could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his or her dismissal during a match\u201d.
\nThe incident took place on the final ball of the 19th over of Lahore Qalandars\u2019 innings when Hasan dismissed Haseebullah Khan.
\nLahore were restricted to 128-9 in their 20 overs after opting to bat first. Abdullah Shafique top-scored with 33 off 24 balls, while Haseebullah Khan made 28 from 30 deliveries.
\nIn reply, Muhammad Waseem led Karachi\u2019s chase with 38 off 37 balls, while Saad Baig and Moeen Ali contributed 19 and 18 respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lahore Qalandars\u2019 batter denies charge after five-run penalty helps Karachi complete a four-wicket win LAHORE Lahore Qalandars batter Fakhar Zaman has been charged with a Level 3 offence under Article 2.14 of the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel for allegedly breaching Article 41.3 of the playing conditions, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n