Fakhar Zaman ball-tampering row: Pakistan star completes second hearing, denies allegations

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 has been going on during the 11th edition of the competition. Something unusual happened last night in match no.6 between Lahore Qalandars (LHQ) and Karachi Kings (KK). Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman has been charged with ball tampering during the game. It was caught on camera that the Southpaw did something with the ball.

Fkahar Zaman was seen forcing something into the ball after it was given to him by captain Shaheen Afridi and teammate Haris Rauf. The umpire stepped in right away, changed the ball, assessed the situations and a five-run penalty was handed to the Qalandars. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has accused Zaman of ball-tampering, the punishment is unlikely to be harsh.

Fakhar Zaman set to be banned

However, Fakhar Zaman denied the charge against him. Zaman was charged with a Level 3 offence under Article 2.14 of the PSL Code of Conduct after match referee Roshan Mahanama found a possible breach of playing conditions that prohibit altering the condition of the ball.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Previously, the Pakistan Cricket Board said: "Fakhar denied the charge levelled against him during a disciplinary hearing led by the match referee Roshan Mahanama. Another hearing is set to take place within the next 48 hours, after which the match referee will share his verdict."

Fakhar Zaman continues to defend himself

Recently, the new reports stated that Fakhar Zaman's second hearing concluded, with the possibility of a ban from one to two matches. Fakhar Zaman stands firm on his stance from the first hearing and also after the second hearing.

The ball tampering incident happened before the final over of Karachi Kings’ innings, when they needed 14 runs to win. On-field umpire Faisal Afridi took the ball and consulted with Sharfuddoula second umpire. The umpires determined that the ball's condition had been deliberately altered.

فخر زمان کیس کی دوسری سماعت مکمل، ایک سے دو میچز کی پابندی کا امکان ، فخرزمان اپنے پہلی سماعت کے موقف پر قائم

— Sohail Imran (@sohailimrangeo) March 30, 2026

Fakhar was charged with violating the playing condition "which makes it an offence to take any action which changes the condition of the ball," said a PSL statement on Monday. Now, with the second hearing being done, Fakhar is expected to miss games against Multan Sultans and Islamabad United.

PSL played with empty stands

The PSL has started from 26th March, 2026, and will be running till May 3, 2026. The tournament saw two new teams being inducted into the competion Rawalpindi Pindiz and Hyderabad Kingsmen. This is the first time that the competition has been conducted with 8 teams.

However, it has been played in empty stands, and no crowd has been allowed due to the Middle-East Asia crisis. Coming to the match, Karachi Kings won the game by 4 wickets while chasing a target of 129 runs.

Lahore Qalandars are the defending champions and the joint-most successful team alongside Islamabad United, winning the trophy three times. Shaheen Shah Afridi's side is second in the points table with two matches played, with one loss and one win.

Also Read: CSK will miss Dewald Brevis more than MS Dhoni: Ex-India star makes huge IPL 2026 claim