Bad news for Pakistan cricket in middle of PSL 2026, star player is set to be BANNED due to…

Ball tampering row has hit Pakistan Super League 2026 with defending champions Lahore Qalandars docked 5 runs in their match vs Karachi Kings on Sunday.

Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings PSL 2026: In what will be major embarrassment for Pakistan cricket, the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 is embroiled in another major controversy which is spiraling out of control. Defending champion Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and opener Fakhar Zama have been accused of ball tampering in their PSL 2026 match against Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.

Fakhar Zaman has been charged on Sunday night 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. The Pakistan opener was found to have violated Article 41.3 of the PSL playing conditions, which prohibits any action that alters the condition of the ball.

The charge against Zaman relates to an incident just before the final over of the Karachi Kings innings, when they needed 14 runs to win. Zaman was seen in discussion with Haris Rauf and Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi before the over. Shortly thereafter, umpire Faisal Afridi requested the ball and, after inspecting it with his colleague, determined that its condition had been altered.

WATCH Fakhar Zaman tampering with the ball in PSL 2026 match vs Karachi Kings HERE…

BIG EMBARASSMENT FOR PAKISTANI FANS
– Fakhar Zaman did the ball tampering on live camera & got penalized by 5 runs
– Fakhar Zaman likely to be banned for 2-3 years
– PSL is a League where the ball gets pink and now the ball gets tempered pic.twitter.com/rbVPoW4fAD
— Fan Account Richard Kettlebourogh (@RichKettle07) March 30, 2026

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Appearing before the former Sri Lankan cricketer Roshan Mahanama, Zaman denied the charges against him. The match referee is expected to hold another hearing within the next 48 hours before delivering a verdict.

The on-field umpires penalised Lahore Qalandars five runs for altering the condition of the ball and subsequently replaced it. As a result, David Warner’s Karachi Kings needed 9 runs to win in the final over instead of 14 runs which they managed to chase down with four wickets to spare.

This left Karachi Kings needing nine runs in the final over, which they chased down with four wickets to spare. Karachi ll-rounder Abbas Afridi smashed Haris Rauf for a four and a six after the bowler had delivered a wide in the final over.

If the match referee confirms that the ball was tampered with, Zaman – and potentially the Lahore Qalandars as a team – could face serious penalties. “I don’t know about this (ball tampering), and we’ll discuss. Five runs penalty…but we can’t say anything. We will see,” Qalandars captain Shaheen Afridi said in the post-match presentation.

“Honestly, I didn’t like it. Winning and losing is a part of the game but tampering with the ball to win matches is not acceptable. You are representing Pakistan and you are a captain of your franchise. What example are you setting for your young generations?” Karachi Kings captain Warner said after the match.

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The Times Of Bengal