PSL Ball Tampering Controversy: Pakistan Super League witnessed yet another controversy in its 11th season. The clash between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings was seemingly inching towards a thriller at the end of the 19th over.
With 14 runs required to win for the Kings, it was Haris Rauf who took the ball. However, just as he was about to bowl the first ball, the on-field umpire asked for the ball to check on its condition.
The umpire took the decision that the 'conditions of the ball had been changed' or, in simpler terms, the Shaheen Afridi-led side had tampered with the ball. A video is doing the rounds on social media platforms, where it can be seen that the Lahore Qalandars' skipper, Shaheen, Rauf, and Fakhar Zaman seem to be involved in what was termed as ball tampering by the officials.
The unsportsmanlike behaviour from the three Pakistani players resulted in a penalty of five runs being awarded to the Kings. This meant that in spite of picking a wicket on the first ball of the over, Rauf could not defend the target, handing the Karachi-based side their second win of the tournament.
WATCH- Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, And Fakhar Zaman caught on camera
Haris Rauf came on to bowl the last over for the reigning champions, with the Kings needing 14 runs to win. At the end of the bowler's run-up, Lahore Qalandars' captain Shaheen, Rauf, and Fakhar briefly came together and handled the ball. Umpire Faisal Afridi ordered the ball to be examined right away after observing the mini-meeting that took place between the three players. After a long examination and a thorough conversation between Afridi and square-leg umpire Sharfuddoula, the umpires seemed to conclude that Qalandars had purposefully changed the ball's condition and gave Kings five penalty runs. The ball was also replaced right away. The decision, which left Kings with just nine runs to chase, infuriated Qalandars skipper Shaheen.
Karachi Kings takes a dig at Lahore Qalandars after win
The Karachi Kings took to social media to take an apparent dig at Lahore Qalandars after recording their second win of PSL 2026. Karachi Kings captioned their post on X (formerly Twitter) as "It was a different BALL game." taking a dig at how the ball was changed before the final over.
Needing 14 runs to chase in the final over, the Kings were awarded five runs as a result of ball tampering from Lahore Qalandars players.
Khushdil Shah was dismissed on the first ball of the over, thanks to a safe catch from Sikandar Raza at the cow corner boundary. Rauf bowled a wide on the following delivery before Abbas Afridi struck a four and a six to win the clash for his team.
Rawalpindi Pindiz and Gohar Shah React
Rawalpindi Pindiz, one of the new franchises in the Pakistan Super League, reacted to the alleged ball tampering. They took to social media, calling for stronger action to be taken against the players if found guilty.
Gohar Shah, the owner of Multan Sultans, too, took to Twitter and made a post, which he later deleted. In the now-deleted tweet, Shah said, "Did anyone record that bit end of the 19th over where the ball was getting a pedicure?"
Shaheen Afridi addresses ball tampering controversy
During his post-match interview, Shaheen addressed the ball tampering controversy. The Lahore Qalandars' skipper, when asked about the controversy by Ramiz Raja, said he did not know about it. "I don't know about this (ball tampering), and we'll discuss. Five runs penalty. But we can't say anything. We will see," the left-arm pacer said.
Also Read:PSL 2026: Updated Points Table, Top Run-Getters And Wicket-Takers After Match 6 - LQ vs KRK