Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) continues to face unusual controversy this season, with the match ball once again changing colour, this time during a clash involving the Karachi Kings. In a bizarre repeat of an earlier incident, dye from players’ kits reportedly rubbed off onto the white ball, turning it reddish during play.Watch:
This marks the second such occurrence in PSL 2026. Earlier in the opening game between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen at Gaddafi Stadium, the ball had turned pink due to colour transfer from jerseys. The incident left players and officials puzzled, drawing widespread attention.Reacting to that episode, Hyderabad Kingsmen skipper Marnus Labuschagne had said, “I did say to the umpires after the second over, ‘What’s going on? The ball is red.’ It must be from the clothes or something like that. I haven’t seen anything like this before,” before adding, “I’ve seen occasions where something on a bat comes onto the ball, or when it hits the pad and takes a bit of paint off. But I’ve never seen this happen with clothing. I’m sure they’ll sort it out in the next few games.”Amid the off-field talking point, Karachi Kings secured a crucial five-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars. Chasing 200, captain David Warner anchored the innings with an unbeaten 63, while Khushdil Shah provided a late flourish with a blistering 44 off just 14 balls.Earlier, Abdullah Shafique (62) and Fakhar Zaman (61) powered the Qalandars to 199/5 with a 110-run stand. Despite the strong total, Karachi chased it down with eight balls to spare, keeping their playoff hopes alive.However, with the ball-colour issue resurfacing, questions are being raised over kit quality and match conditions, adding an unusual twist to PSL 2026.
