Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has spoken out about the controversial five-run penalty that tilted the PSL 11 thriller against Karachi Kings. Speaking at the post-match presentation on Sunday, the pace bowler admitted he was unaware of the ball condition change that led to the decisive penalty.
The incident occurred before the final over of Karachi’s chase at Gaddafi Stadium. On-field umpires inspected the ball and ruled its condition had been altered, handing a five-run penalty to the batting side. The decision reduced Karachi’s required runs from 14 to nine, and Abbas Afridi’s subsequent boundaries sealed a four-wicket victory for the Kings.
When asked about the umpires’ decision, Shaheen expressed disappointment but stopped short of direct criticism. “I don’t know about this [ball tampering], and we’ll discuss. Five runs penalty… but we can’t say anything. We will see,” he said during the post-match presentation.
🚨 SHAHEEN afridi on ball tempering:
"I don’t know about this. We will see that in cameras. We will discuss it."#PSL2026 #LQvKK
pic.twitter.com/Ym19CIewCW
— Anees (@AneesViews) March 29, 2026His comments reflect the confusion surrounding the ruling, with the Qalandars captain choosing to focus on his team’s fighting spirit rather than the controversy.
Despite the defeat, Shaheen defended his team’s overall performance. He pointed out that Karachi Kings struggled to chase the modest 129-run target, suggesting Lahore’s bowlers made the contest competitive.
🚨 Ball tampering controversy! 🚨
Lahore Qalandars were penalized 5 runs vs Karachi Kings — target reduced from 14 to 9 🤯
The big question: who actually tampered with the ball?
Was it Shaheen Shah Afridi or Haris Rauf? 👀
⚠️ #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/L9wDTlEOhD
— Khan (@ccricket713) March 29, 2026“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 explained.
The loss extended Karachi’s head-to-head dominance over Lahore to 15-8. However, when asked about a potential mental block against their traditional rivals, Shaheen dismissed the notion entirely.
Read: PSL 11: Karachi Kings Beat Lahore Qalandars in Low-Scoring Thriller
“No mental block. My team has fought till the last ball, that’s what I need from my team,” he concluded. The ball-tampering penalty remains a talking point among fans and analysts, with the Qalandars likely to seek clarification from the match officials.
