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Pakistan’s experienced fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was caught trying to distort the shape of the ball. This incident took place on the fourth day of the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Pakistan is currently on Bangladesh tour for a two-match test series. The first Test started on 8 May and Bangladesh performed well with the bat and maintained the lead from the first innings.
Ball tampering, or attempting to tamper with the red ball, is nothing new in modern Test cricket. They have done this many times and many players have been involved in such activities. Australians faced huge backlash for such an incident in 2018, which also included famous cricketers David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.
Shaheen Afridi tampered with the ball against Bangladesh; ICC is banning Pakistan’s fast bowler.
Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is one of the most experienced players in the current Test team on the Bangladesh tour. He also took three wickets while bowling long spells during the first innings against Bangladesh.
However, during the second innings of the game, Shaheen Afridi was seen engaging in some inappropriate conduct. The left-arm fast bowler was seen pressing the red ball under his shoes and the spikes could have distorted the shape of the ball.
The umpire also immediately ran to check the ball. The umpire searches the ball for any deformity or change in shape; However, he did not find anything inconsistent and then Shaheen Afridi completed his over. After this, Shaheen Afridi dismissed Mominul Haq in the second spell.
Shaheen ball tampering o bahi or lahore kalandars no pic.twitter.com/XdxFGZh69h
– Sarfaraz Gilchrist (@SarfrazCT17) 11 May 2026
Azaan Awais and Abdullah Fazal acted for the first time; Mohammad Abbas chose five-fer.
Bangladesh’s openers struggled with their opening partnerships, but three players in that lineup, Mominul Haq, captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto and veteran star Mushfiqur Rahim, added runs for Bangladesh, helping them score 413 runs in the first innings.
Pakistani batsmen Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal made their debut for Pakistan and made important contributions with the bat. While opener Awais scored a century in the debut match, Fazal also scored a brilliant half-century.
Later, half-centuries from Salman Aga and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan get closer to Bangladesh’s score; However, they were still behind by 27 runs at the end of their innings. Mohammad Abbas took five wickets in the first Bangladeshi innings.
Can Pakistan register its second win in this WTC cycle?
Extending their lead, Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto once again helped them recover from a poor start. With Mominul Haq adding almost a hundred runs, Bangladeshis took their innings lead beyond 175 runs by the end of the fourth day.
Pakistan has managed to win one of its two matches in the previous home series against South Africa in this WTC cycle. The team is still looking for some promising wins in the longest format of the game.
Currently placed fifth in the WTC points table, Pakistan will look to move up in the points table, and a win for them can take them ahead of Sri Lanka in the points table. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have not won a single game so far in this WTC cycle.
Also read: ‘When Virat Kohli fails in 2 matches, I get excited’: Krunal Pandya’s blunt statement
