Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad has been fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the opening batsman was found guilty of committing a Level 1 offence under Article 2.14, which relates to changing condition of the ball (non-identification) during a match.

According to a PCB media release, Shehzad has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee, while his team-mate Azhar Ali and Sindh fast-bowler Sohail Khan have received official reprimands for violating PCB Code of Conduct during their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match, which ended in an exciting draw in Faisalabad on Thursday.

The incident occurred during the 17th over of Sindh’s first innings on Tuesday when, during a normal inspection of the ball, on-field umpires Mohammad Asif and Zameer Ahmed found that the ball had been unfairly changed by a member of the fielding side.

The matter was reported to match referee Nadeem Arshad who, on the basis of a preliminary review, determined that Ahmed Shehzad, as captain, had a case to answer for the contravention as the incident related to non-identification of the player and a Notice of Charge was issued to him under the PCB Code of Conduct.

Ahmed pleaded not guilty to the charge, and, as such, a hearing took place after the match on Thursday, in which Ahmed was found guilty.

Ahmed later said: “We can agree to disagree in this incident as I maintain that the condition of the ball changed naturally due to the rough playing square and not artificially. I tried to convince the match officials, but they insisted and I accept and respect their decision.

“I would never indulge in such an act nor allow any of my team-mates to disrespect the game. My priority is to play hard, competitive and result-oriented cricket, and at the same time inspire the younger generation, which watches us play the game.”