Shaheen responds to five-run penalty over change in ball's condition

Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said on Sunday that he was unaware of the ball's condition change 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 ahead of the final over of the Kings' innings, as the on-field umpires analysed the ball and deemed that its condition was altered, which resulted in a five-run penalty for the fielding side.

The penalty brought the equation down to just nine required off the final over instead of 14 for the Kings, and Abbas Afridi's consecutive boundaries on the second and third deliveries, steering the 2020 champions to an enthralling four-wicket victory.

Although Shaheen expressed his disappointment over the umpires' decision when they slapped the home side with a penalty, he claimed to be unaware of the accusation, insisting that they would discuss it.

"I don't know about this [ball tampering], and we'll discuss. Five runs penalty...but we can't say anything. We will see," said Shaheen at the post-match presentation.

Reflecting on his team's overall performance, Shaheen argued that their batting unit did a decent job, citing the Kings' struggle in chasing down the modest 129-run target.

"It was a good game. We wanted to fight till the final ball, and the team tried. In both teams' batting, it was the same. I feel our batting was fine, otherwise KK would've chased this in 15 overs," the left-arm pacer stressed.

Notably, the Kings' sensational four-wicket victory in the recently-concluded fixture extended their head-to-head dominance over the Qalandars to 15-8.

When asked whether the Qalandars have any mental block against their traditional rivals, the Kings, Shaheen declined and instead highlighted the team's spirit to fight until the final delivery.

"No mental block. My team has fought till the last ball, that's what I need from my team," Shaheen concluded.