LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Batter Fakhar Zaman of Lahore Qalandars was suspended for two matches on Tuesday for ball tampering in the Pakistan Super League.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said Zaman breached the code of conduct relating to changing the condition of the ball. Zaman denied wrongdoing but his first Level 3 offense earned him the maximum suspension from match referee Roshan Mahanama of Sri Lanka.

The controversy erupted on Sunday when Haris Rauf was due to bowl the final over and the Karachi Kings needed 14 runs for victory.

Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zaman and Rauf gathered at the top of the bowler’s run-up and all three handled the ball during their discussion. Umpire Faisal Afridi requested the ball, inspected it and had a long talk with the second on-field umpire Shahid Saikat of Bangladesh.

Both umpires decided the ball was deliberately altered and awarded five penalty runs to Karachi, which now needed nine runs off the last six balls. The umpires also changed the ball. Abbas Afridi smashed a four and a six to earn a four-wicket win for Karachi in 19.3 overs.

Zaman can appeal.

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket