Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The debate around the “spirit of cricket” resurfaced after the controversial run-out of Salman Ali Agha by Mehidy Hasan Miraz during the second ODI between Pakistan national cricket team and Bangladesh national cricket team at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.The incident unfolded in the 39th over of Pakistan’s innings when the visitors were in the middle of a steady recovery. Agha and Mohammad Rizwan had put together a 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket after Pakistan lost three early wickets. On the fourth delivery of the over, bowled by Bangladesh captain Miraz, Rizwan pushed the ball gently down the ground. The ball rolled towards Agha, who had stepped out of his crease at the non-striker’s end after backing up.
As the ball struck his pads, Agha bent down to pick it up and appeared to hand it back. Miraz, however, quickly collected the ball and dislodged the bails while Agha was still outside the crease before appealing for a run-out.The on-field umpire referred the appeal to the third umpire, who ruled in Bangladesh’s favour and confirmed the dismissal. The decision left Agha visibly frustrated as he walked back to the pavilion, with television visuals showing the Pakistan batter expressing his displeasure.The moment also triggered a brief exchange between Agha and Miraz on the field, while Rizwan was seen engaging in a discussion with the Bangladesh players.Despite the controversy, Pakistan went on to win the match by 128 runs via the DLS method. Speaking after the game, Agha reflected on the dismissal and the circumstances around it.“What he has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but from my perspective, I would have done it differently. I would have gone for sportsman’s spirit. We haven’t done this type of thing previously, we would never do that in the future as well,” Agha said.“Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat. So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat. I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided to make the run-out,” he added.“It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff. If you ask me what I would have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment,” said Agha.When asked about the exchange between the two players during the incident, Agha admitted that neither side used “nice words”.“I can’t remember what I was saying, and I can’t remember what he was saying. I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just the heat of the moment, so we are fine,” he said.
