Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad has been fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the charges of ball-tampering during a domestic tournament.
In a statement PCB said Ahmed Shehzad has been fined 50 percent of his match fees after he was found guilty of changing condition of the ball (non-identification) during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy clash between Central Punjab and Sindh which took place on Tuesday.
However, Ahmed Shehzad continued to claim innocence, saying that the “condition of the ball changed naturally due to the rough playing square”.
The incident occurred during the 17th over of Sindh’s first innings when, during a normal inspection of the ball, on-field umpires found that the ball had been unfairly changed by a member of the fielding side.
The matter was reported to the match referee who, on the basis of a preliminary review, determined that Shehzad, as captain, had a case to answer related to non-identification of the player and a Notice of Charge was issued to him under the PCB Code of Conduct.
Shehzad, who has played in 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 59 T20Is for Pakistan, was earlier handed a four-month ban effective by the cricket board in July last year for violating PCB’s anti-doping rules.