The relationship between Pakistan’s cricket and controversies is a deep-rooted affair. This time around it is the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020, which came under the radar for an incident during Karachi Kings’ clash with Peshawar Zalmi at National Stadium in Karachi.
The Imad Wasim-led side was made to bat first and posted a mammoth 201 on the board for the loss of four wickets in their 20 overs.
Their star batsmen Babar Azam led the charge with his knock of 78 off just 56. Azam hit seven trademark boundaries and a couple of maximums during his effort.
Skipper Imad Wasim provided the finishing blow with his unbeaten half-century off just 30 balls. The Peshawar Zalmis took the chase close but ended up only ten shy of the required target.
However, one of the incidents during the match caught the limelight during the match. One of the entities in Kings’ dugout, wearing their jersey, was seen talking on his mobile phone during the match.
The visual was interesting as the ICC strictly prohibits the use of phones during the match, even in the dressing room.
As soon as the picture went all over social media, another incident of spot-fixing looked definitely on the cards.
https://twitter.com/satapathy190/status/1230858837520814082
https://twitter.com/Shhhh83205871/status/1230863948993290240
https://twitter.com/ArifN318/status/1231086650614321152
New rule in #PSL you can use mobile phones in dug-outs pic.twitter.com/fGZF7LlsAi
— Quarantined Ninja (@lazyganster) February 21, 2020
PSl 5 gud event in Pakistan but not use Mobile and not use smart watch and coach not come to ground to guide to players plz… If u can do it's not gud message to world… pic.twitter.com/q7omJfAfVn
— Kamran Dayo (@kamrandayo2) February 21, 2020
Karachi Kings’ head coach, Dean Jones, was quick to give clarifications regarding the incident which took place during the match.
“Like in ALL T20 cricket. The manager/CEO is the only one allowed to have a phone. In this case Tariq. Our CEO is doing work. Here he is organising us Practice times for today. Thanks for your concern,” retweeted the Australian along with the snapshot of the incident.
Like in ALL T20 cricket. The manager/CEO is the only one allowed to have a phone. In this case Tariq.. our CEO is doing work. Here he is organising us Practice times for today. Thanks for your concern. https://t.co/UORGtmMlro
— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) February 22, 2020
