PSL 2026 was rocked by a ball-tampering incident during Match 6 between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings on Sunday (March 29). Find all the latest developments on the ball-tampering episode here.
PSL 2026 ball tampering: What exactly happened?
Defending a modest total of 128, Lahore found themselves in the driver's seat at the start of the 20th over, when Karachi needed 14 more with five wickets in hand.
Captain Shaheen Afridi gave Haris Rauf the ball and the two held a brief meeting around the bowler's run-up. They were joined by senior professional Fakhar Zaman as well, and the three took turns to hold the ball.
On-field umpire Faisal Afridi seemed to have a close eye on the interaction and asked to inspect the ball, which was followed by discussions with his partner Sharfuddoula Saikat before they decided to award five penalty runs to Karachi and changed the ball.
It is unclear as of now, the extent to which Shaheen, Rauf, and Fakhar would have changed the condition of the ball. But the on-field umpires found it tampered with enough to penalise Lahore.
It eventually proved to be costly for them, as Karachi got the remaining nine runs in just three balls.
Match 6, Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings
vs
- Ball by ball Over
How has PSL responded?
The PSL has charged Fakhar with a Level 3 offence for breaching the Code of Conduct, which the Pakistan opener has denied.
Whether this snowballs into a larger controversy or settles down quickly remains to be seen. You can find the complete timeline of events, including the latest developments below.
