Umpires ruled that Lahore Qalandars altered the condition of the ball before the final over against Karachi Kings.
The ongoing season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been rocked by a ball-tampering controversy. Lahore Qalandars were handed a five-run penalty for altering the condition of the ball during their clash against Karachi Kings at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday (March 29).
Kings needed 14 runs to win in the final over, with Haris Rauf tasked to defend it for Qalandars. Rauf, Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar Zaman were involved in a brief interaction at the bowler's run-up, during which each player handled the ball. Umpire Faisal Afridi observed the exchange and called for the ball to be inspected.
Following a thorough examination and discussion between umpires Faisal Afridi and Sharfuddoula, the officials concluded that Qalandars had deliberately changed the ball's condition. As a result, five penalty runs were awarded to Kings, and the ball was replaced immediately.
After the penalty, Karachi required just nine runs from the remaining six balls, ultimately securing victory with three deliveries to spare.
While investigations and discussions around the alleged incident continue, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has suggested that the ball-tampering controversy in the PSL 2026 was intentionally amplified to grab headlines and boost the tournament's visibility.
Latif also compared the situation to The Hundred, where he claimed reports of Pakistani players being excluded were used to generate initial interest in a league no one knew about.
“I don't want to talk about ball tampering. Otherwise, I will have to talk about my playing days as it will be unfair to just talk about the current players,” Latif said while speaking in a YouTube video, hinting at the long-standing nature of such issues in the sport.
“If any film is coming out and you know that it will be flop, it is made into a controversy. Like they did with The Hundred when they said that no Pakistan player will be playing. No one knew The Hundred before that,” he added.
“Now there is a controversy in PSL and it will become headlines. This news will not be relevant for more than 24 hours,” he further remarked.
During the post-match presentation, Qalandars captain Shaheen Afridi expressed uncertainty about the ball-tampering episode, stating, “I don't know about this and we'll see if it's there in the camera and discuss what it is.”
Under PSL regulations, umpires must report incidents like ball-tampering to the match referee for action, with potential penalties including multi-match suspensions.