The 35-year-old was charged for committing a Level 2 offence under Article 2.14 of the PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. He was found guilty of breaching Article 41.3 of the PSL, which prohibits any action that tinkers with the condition of the ball.

On-field umpires Shahid Saikat and Faisal Khan Aafreedi, along with TV umpire Asif Yaqoob and fourth umpire Tariq Rasheed, raised the charges against Fakhar. However, he denied all the charges during the hearing. But there was footage present incriminating him for the offence.

It was umpire Faisal Afridi who suspected foul play and asked for the ball to be inspected. Following that, he engaged in a lengthy discussion with his fellow on-field umpire. In the aftermath, Lahore Qalandars were penalised five runs, and the ball was replaced. The decision brought down the figure of required runs from 14 to 9 runs, which Karachi chased down successfully.

Following Fakhar's denial, the match referee took 48 hours to arrive at a verdict. Captain Shaheen Afridi, team director Sameen Rana, and team manager Farooq Anwar were present during the proceedings. Eventually, on Tuesday, PCB announced that Fakhar had been suspended for two PSL matches after being found guilty of the Level 3 offence.

"Zaman has been suspended for two Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches after he was found guilty of a Level 3 offence for tampering with the ball," the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Tuesday.

This is the second consecutive day that PCB has penalised a player. On Monday, the board slapped Naseem Shah with a fine of USD 72,000, which translates to 20 million PKR.

Shah has been penalised for posting controversial remarks on the Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's presence at the PSL opening game during an ongoing crisis in the region.

The social media post made by Naseem captured several impressions and as a result, a controversy ensued. In the now-deleted post, he sarcastically commented on the "queen" treatment given to Maryam, who is the daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and niece of incumbent PM Shahbaz Sharif. "Why is she being treated like the Queen at Lords?" Naseem had posted in reference to Maryam.

Naseem claimed that his account was hacked and that he was not responsible for the sensitive comment. However, that did not stop PCB from issuing a show-cause notice within 24 hours of the incident. During the disciplinary hearing, the 21-year-old tendered his apology and also fired his social media manager, who has now been blacklisted by the board from working with any Pakistan cricketer.

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