Another controversial moment came in Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026). Babar Azam, who is known to maintain peace on the field, lost his cool during the match and got involved in a heated altercation with the on-field umpire during the Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars PSL 2026 match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on April 25.
Babar Azam’s obvious frustration was due to the umpire’s repeated decisions to change the ball during the second innings of the match while Peshawar Zalmi were defending their total of 199.
A heated moment during Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars PSL 2026 clash
The heated incident took place midway through the fourth ball of the third over when the umpires decided to change the ball. Within the first three overs of the innings, the umpires were forced to change the ball twice. He must have noticed something unusual about the balls, which is why he chose to take different balls.
Frequent changing of the ball led to a heated argument between the on-field umpire and Zalmi captain Babar Azam. For the second time within a short period, he kept arguing with the umpire for about two to three minutes against the decision to change the ball.
🚨 Babar Azam vs Umpire..!!! 🤯
– Babar Azam expressed disappointment over the umpires continuously changing balls.
– They were explaining to the umpires that the ball was not ours but their fault. pic.twitter.com/EYKLja9Ed5
— Abdullah. (@Abdullah_56) 25 April 2026
Babar was against changing the ball
Babar continued the argument for a long time with the ball in his hand and a finger towards the umpire. It was clear that Peshawar Zalmi would continue playing with the old ball. However, the umpire stuck to his decision and the Babar Azam-led team was handed the new ball.
Before the heated exchange, Peshawar Zalmi was mostly in control of the match. In the first innings, they scored a competitive total of 199 runs with the help of Babar’s 59 runs off 45 balls and Michael Bracewell’s 83 runs off 45 balls.
Lahore Qalandars got a good foundation early on as one of their opening batsmen, Fakhar Zaman, remained unbeaten on the track with an unbeaten 58 off 47 balls. Abdullah Shafiq, Charith Asalanka, Sikandar Raza and Daniel Sams added their value with the bat in the run chase. While Zaman played the role of an anchor, on the other front, other batsmen got license to play against the opposition bowler with an aggressive approach.
The team led by Babar Azam lost the match
With 3 more balls remaining, Lahore Qalandars achieved the target and won the match by 6 wickets. This was Peshawar Zalmi’s first defeat of the season, but they remained on top of the points table.
After the Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars match, Zalmi remains at the number one position in the points table with 17 points in 10 matches and a net run rate of +2.324. Multan Sultans are in second place with 12 points from 9 matches.
Babar Azam said after the match, “The pitch played differently from the last game. Some momentum was lost, but the idea was not to lose wickets. Mendis stepped up and dominated the spinners. As long as you are in the middle, you feel good. Played as per the situation. Wanted to rotate the strike.”
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