Sipu Jha
NEW DELHI: After the ball-tampering scandal rocked the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Afridi expected the burning question to come his way – and it did. Following Lahore Qalandars’ defeat, Afridi was asked about the dramatic final over that involved alleged ball tampering by his teammate and star opener Fakhar Zaman.Here’s how the post-match presentation conversation went:Rameez Raja: That last over was quite dramatic, especially with the ball being changed due to suspected ball tampering. Your thoughts on that incident?
Afridi: Actually, I don’t know much about it. We’ll have to check what exactly happened on camera. We’ll discuss it and see who did what, because it did hurt us badly. The five penalty runs made a big difference. But right now, we can’t say much until we are sure.The incident took place during a PSL match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings, with Fakhar finding himself at the centre of the controversy.The issue surfaced when Lahore Qalandars fast bowler Haris Rauf was set to bowl the final over, with Karachi Kings needing 14 runs for victory.Rauf was preparing to bowl when captain Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar joined him for a brief discussion to chalk out a plan for the final over.What raised eyebrows was that Fakhar appeared to be caught on camera altering the ball.On-field umpire Faisal Afridi then called for the ball, inspected it, and held a lengthy discussion with fellow umpire Sharfuddoula of Bangladesh.After deliberation, the umpires concluded that the ball had been deliberately altered and awarded five penalty runs to Karachi, reducing the target to nine runs off the final six balls.The ball was also changed.Lahore Qalandars eventually lost the match by four wickets.
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