Lahore, April 4 Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman was already under the close scrutiny of the umpires even before they changed the ball and awarded five runs penalty against Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a source revealed.
Zaman was handed a two-match ban after being found guilty of ball-tampering during a PSL match.
"The Karachi Kings management had brought to the notice of the fourth umpire and subsequently the match referee from the 13th over onwards that they suspected Fakhar was doing something to the ball," said a source.
The source claimed the referee had asked the on-field umpires to keep a watch on the Lahore Qalandars team, particularly Zaman.
"Before the final over, umpire Faisal Afridi had already been watching closely. He asked for the ball and on inspecting it suspected it had been tampered with a foreign object," he added.
"That is why the decision to change the ball and award penalty runs was given," he stated.
Zaman, after being banned, also appealed to the technical committee of the PSL to overturn the referee's decision, but they rejected his ban on the grounds that there was enough circumstantial evidence available to the umpires and match referee to take action against Zaman.
The Pakistan batsman had to sit out for the Lahore game against Multan Sultans on Friday night because of the ban and is set to miss another game on April 9.