List Of Pakistan Players Who Have Been Involved In Ball Tampering

Fakhar Zaman [Source: AFP]

Pakistan's cricketing history is, unfortunately, littered with ball-tampering incidents. These controversies have sparked discussions and agitated experts about the essence of the game, the art of reverse swing, and the often-blurred boundary between "ball management" and straight-out rule violations.

The most recent incident occurred on March 29, 2026, during the eleventh season of the PSL. Lahore Qalandars' opener, Fakhar Zaman, faced formal charges for allegedly altering the ball's condition during a crucial match against the Karachi Kings.

This fresh scandal has once again dragged Pakistan’s cricketing legacy into the spotlight, pointing to some of the similar high-profile cases involving some of the country’s greatest fast bowlers and captains.

Here is a detailed look at the key Pakistan players who have faced official sanctions, fines, bans or public admissions related to ball tampering.

1. Waqar Younis (2000)

In July 2000, Waqar Younis made history as the first player ever to be suspended and fined for ball tampering at the international level.

The incident occurred during the Singer Triangular Series in Sri Lanka on July 8, 2000, in an ODI between Pakistan and South Africa at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Television cameras using a special zoom lens caught Waqar working on the ball with his fingernails, specifically attempting to lift the quarter seam and scratch the surface.

Match Referee John Reid reviewed the footage and found Waqar guilty of a serious breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. He was handed a one-match ban with immediate effect and fined 50% of his match fee.

2. Azhar Mahmood (2000)

Azhar Mahmood was also punished in the same July 8, 2000, ODI against South Africa during the Singer Triangular Series in Colombo. Television replays showed Azhar Mahmood and teammate Waqar Younis scratching the ball.

Both players were charged with breaching Rules 1 and 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct and Law 42.4 of the Laws of Cricket, which prohibit altering the ball’s condition.

Azhar was fined 30% of his match fee for his involvement or “abetting” the infringement. In the same incident, captain Moin Khan was severely reprimanded for failing to prevent the team’s actions and for allowing the spirit of the game to be impaired under his leadership.

Also Read- Karachi Kings Unleash Hell On Shaheen Afridi, Lahore Qalandars For Ball Tampering

3. Shoaib Akhtar (2002, 2003)

Shoaib Akhtar’s history with ball-tampering includes two major official sanctions and a candid later admission that he regularly used illegal methods to “prepare” the ball.

In November 2002, during the first Test in Harare against Zimbabwe, he was found guilty of altering the condition of the ball and received an official warning plus a suspended one-match ban from Match Referee Clive Lloyd.

In May 2003, during a triangular series match in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, television footage showed Akhtar scratching the seam of the ball in the 29th over.

Third umpire Gamini Silva reported the incident, and after a hearing with Match Referee Gundappa Viswanath, Shoaib Akhtar was fined 75% of his match fee and banned for two ODIs.

In his 2011 autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’, Akhtar made startling admissions where he confessed to tampering with the ball using boot nails and the zip of his back pocket to scuff the ball.

4. Shahid Afridi (2010)

On January 31, 2010, Shahid Afridi was involved in one of the most bizarre ball-tampering incidents in cricket history during the 5th ODI against Australia at the WACA in Perth.

Acting as a stand-in captain in the absence of Mohammad Yousuf, Afridi was caught on television cameras biting into the white Kookaburra ball twice in the 44th over in an attempt to readjust the seam.

TV umpire Rod Tucker spotted the act on the giant screens and alerted on-field umpires Asoka de Silva and Paul Reiffel, who promptly replaced the ball.

Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle charged Afridi with breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct and handed him the maximum penalty: two suspension points, resulting in a two-match T20 International ban.

The PCB initially imposed a 3 million fine but later withdrew it. Immediately after the game, Shahid Afridi claimed he was just “trying to smell the ball” to see how it was feeling. 

He later pleaded guilty, expressed embarrassment, and said it happened in the “heat of the moment” while trying to win for his bowlers.

5. Imran Khan (1994)

In 1994, two years after retiring from international cricket, Imran Khan sparked a massive global controversy with the release of his biography Imran: The Autobiography of Imran Khan.

In the book, he admitted to using a bottle top to “doctor” the ball during a 1981 English County Championship game between Sussex and Hampshire. 

Frustrated on a flat pitch, Imran used the bottle top to roughen one side of the ball, after which it began to “move around in the air at a phenomenal pace,” helping him take several wickets.

He differentiated “doctoring” from normal “lifting the seam,” claiming the latter was common practice in English county cricket at the time and not viewed with the same moral weight as today.

Imran argued that most fast bowlers of his era scratched the ball or lifted the seam to get reverse swing, but he only did it when the ball was already naturally scuffed. He maintained that while doctoring helped, the ability to bowl reverse swing still required immense skill and high pace.

6. Fakhar Zaman (2026)

On March 29, 2026, Fakhar Zaman found himself at the centre of a major ball-tampering scandal during PSL 11. During the match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings, he was formally charged with a Level 3 offence for changing the condition of the ball.

Just before the final over, with Karachi needing 14 runs to win, cameras captured Fakhar, captain Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf in a huddle handling the ball. 

Umpire Faisal Afridi inspected the ball after consulting square-leg umpire Sharfuddoula, ruled it had been tampered with, replaced it, and awarded five penalty runs to Karachi Kings.

A secondary hearing with match referee Roshan Mahanama is underway, with a final verdict expected within 48 hours. 

If found guilty, he faces a one- to two-match ban. This incident comes shortly after Fakhar received an ICC demerit point in December 2025 for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match.

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