PSL 2020: Jason Roy accuses Wahab Riaz of ball tampering; duo clash during the game

The fifth edition of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) has already made the headlines ever the Karachi Kings official (CEO Tariq according to Dean Jones) was spotted with a mobile phone in the dug out. Another controversy erupted during the game between Quetta Gladiators and the Peshawar Zalmi on Saturday when Jason Roy accused Wahab Riaz of ball tampering.

The incident took place during the first innings of the match when the  Gladiators were batting. This is when he asked Wahab whether he had changed the condition of the ball in order to gain the reverse swing. Moreover, the duo clashed as well as the pacer was angry with the accusations only for the Gladiators’ skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed intervened to take control of the situation.

“Roy asked Wahab whether he had made the ball properly to gain reverse swing. The Pakistani pacer reacted angrily and argued before Sarfaraz intervened to diffuse the situation. They basically said in the report that the cricket board and match officials should keep a close watch on the condition of the ball,” the source was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

These things happen in cricket: Sarfaraz Ahmed

Sarfaraz Ahmed too confirmed that Wahab Riaz and Jason Roy had a go at each other after the latter’s comments about ball tampering. He insisted that the incident shouldn’t blown out of proportion. “Look these things happen in cricket when there is intense competition between the players,” the former Pakistan skipper said.

Interestingly, the Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim had reportedly named Wahab Riaz as one of the three players to have tampered the ball previously in the PSL. This had happened when the match referee was explaining the repercussions of such offences to all the captains and the coaches ahead of the tournament.

“I feel for those who make such blunders. Cricket is our bread and butter and we can’t earn doing anything else. I can only feel for them because I know the sort of mental, physical and emotional pressure an affected family goes through in such circumstances because one individual made a mistake,” the 31-year-old had said.