Ahmed Shehzad fined for ball-tampering

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that it has fined Ahmed Shehzad 50% of his match fee for ball-tampering.

“Ahmed Shehzad was found guilty of committing a Level 1 offence under Article 2.14, which relates to changing condition of the ball (non-identification) during a match,” a media release by the cricket board read. “The incident occurred during the 17th over of Sindh’s first innings on Tuesday when, during a normal inspection of the ball, on-field umpires Mohammad Asif and Zameer Ahmed found that the ball had been unfairly changed by a member of the fielding side.”

The Central Punjab skipper insists he was not guilty but says he respects the decision of the officials.

“We can agree to disagree in this incident as I maintain that the condition of the ball changed naturally due to the rough playing square and not artificially. I tried to convince the match officials, but they insisted and I accept and respect their decision,” Shehzad said.

The batsman added that he would never indulge in such an act nor allow any of his teammates to disrespect the game, adding, “My priority is to play hard, competitive and result-oriented cricket, and at the same time inspire the younger generation who watch us play the game,”

Meanwhile, Azhar Ali was found guilty under Article 2.9 of the PCB Code of Conduct which relates to throwing a ball at or near a player, support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner.

Sohail Khan was found guilty of wasting time according under Article 2.10. The duo have received warnings for their behaviour.