Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi on Sunday said he was unaware of the change in ball condition that led to a five-run penalty during their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 clash against Karachi Kings at Gaddafi Stadium today.
The incident occurred before the Kings’ final inning, as on-field officials analyzed the ball and deemed its condition altered, resulting in a five-point penalty for the defensive team.
The penalty brought the equation down to just nine required in the final over instead of 14 for the Kings, and consecutive boundaries from Abbas Afridi on the second and third deliveries, steering the 2020 champions to a thrilling four-wicket victory.
Although Shaheen expressed disappointment with the referees’ decision when they awarded the home team a penalty, he claimed he was unaware of the charge, insisting they would discuss it.
“I don’t know about that [ball tampering]and we will discuss it. Five-point penalty… but we can’t say anything. We will see,” Shaheen said during the post-match presentation.
Reflecting on his team’s overall performance, Shaheen maintained that their batting unit did a decent job, citing the Kings’ difficulty reaching the modest target of 129 runs.
“It was a good match. We wanted to fight till the last ball, and the team tried. In batting for both teams, it was the same. I think our batting was good, otherwise KK would have continued that in 15 overs,” the left-arm pacer pointed out.
Notably, the Kings’ sensational four-wicket victory in the recently concluded match extended their head-to-head dominance over the Qalandars to 15-8.
When asked if the Qalandars had a mental block against their traditional rivals the Kings, Shaheen declined and instead highlighted the team’s spirit to fight till the final delivery.
“No mental block. My team fought till the last ball, that’s what I need from my team,” Shaheen concluded.
