LAHORE: The technical committee of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) has upheld the two-match ban imposed on Lahore Qalandars’ opener Fakhar Zaman for ball-tampering, dealing a significant blow to the franchise ahead of their crucial clash against Multan Sultans on Friday.

Fakhar was found guilty of a Level-3 offence under Article 2.14 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during Qalandars’ match against Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium on March 29. Match referee Roshan Mahanama had earlier imposed the two-match suspension following a disciplinary hearing.

The opener appealed the decision, which was heard on Thursday by the PSL Technical Committee comprising Prof Javed Malik, Dr Mumraiz Naqsh­band and Syed Ali Naqi. After conducting a fresh inquiry, reviewing all evidence and hearing submissions, the committee dismissed the appeal and upheld the ban in full.

As a result, Fakhar will miss Qalandars’ next two matches — against Multan Sultans here on Friday and the subsequent fixture.

Qalandars’ fast bowler Haris Rauf, meanwhile, talking to media after the team’s practice session on Thursday, confirmed that the side would be without Fakhar for the Multan Sultans encounter.

“We will miss Fakhar in tomorrow’s match as the two-match ban on him is still in order,” Haris said.

Fakhar had filed an appeal against Mahan­ama’s decision, but the technical committee ruling has now brought the matter to a close. Haris also addressed cri­t­­i­cism regarding his bowling, particularly in death overs, where his teams have occasionally suffered defeats.

“I have also won many matches for my teams in the past, but people only re­m­ember the ones we lost,” he remarked. “Fans should first understand the match situation before com­men­ting. I welcome positive crit­i­cism, but it sho­uld remain within moral limits.”

The pacer added that he focuses on his own game and does not pay much heed to external opinions. “I always try to do what I want to do,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2026