Bureau Report
Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday confirmed match referee Roshan Mahanama did not received an official complaint from Quetta Gladiators against Peshawar Zalmi for changing the condition of the ball during their fixture on Saturday at Karachi’s National Stadium.
According to Article 3.2, clause 3.2.2 of PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, an official complaint has to be filed by the team manager and submitted to the match referee within 48 hours from the end of the match.
Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmad had said he had written about the ball tampering allegations in his report. The team complained to the match officials that the ball was allegedly tampered by Wahab during their innings. The Gladiators added that due to the incident they could not hand a competitive total to Zalmi. The left-arm quickie had taken two wickets for 21 runs in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League’s fourth match. However, no complaint has been filed and the 48-hour window has now closed, the board said in a statement.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said, “We are aware that a statement on changing the condition of the ball has been made without providing any concrete evidence or lodging a formal complaint through the correctly stated procedure.”
“In this case, this should have been submitted to the match referee by 6pm on Monday, 24 February. Such irresponsible statements without formal follow-up will only affect the integrity of the event and cast doubts on international cricketers, and, as such, I request the players to use caution and show responsibility,” Khan added.
The chief executive added, “We have an excellent panel of umpires who, as per the playing conditions, are carrying out due diligence during matches. If they will spot any artificial or unnatural interference with the ball, they will act as per the Code.”
