South African batsman Faf du Plessis has reportedly been summoned by a match referee after television replays showed him rubbing the ball over a zip on his thigh during the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai.
Pakistan was 62-5 in the 31st over when umpires Ian Gould and Rod Tucker warned South African captain Graeme Smith, changed the ball and handed out a five-run penalty for changing the condition of the ball.
According to Sport24, Du Plessis faces a number of penalties ranging from a 50 to 100 percent fine of his match fees to a suspension from one Test and two one-day internationals or two Twenty20s, whichever is played first.
The report mentioned that Pakistan was the first and the only Test team to be penalised for ball tampering during the Oval Test in 2006 against England, following which the umpire awarded the game to England - the only forfeit in the history of Test cricket.
This month, the ICC amended its laws regarding the condition of balls, saying that if a player responsible can be identified, the ball will be changed and a five-run penalty will be awarded, and the player responsible will be reported, the report added.
