Spirit of cricket debate erupts as rival fumes at Bangladesh captain’s bizarre run out

The unusual run out of Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha during Friday’s second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka has ignited a spirit of cricket debate, with Tigers captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz accused of poor sportsmanship.

The tourists were cruising at 3-231 in the 39th over when Mohammad Rizwan fended a delivery back towards bowler Miraz, who got into tangle with non-striker Agha.

The Pakistan batter, incorrectly assuming the ball was dead, made no attempt to return to his crease having backed up, instead tried to pick up the ball while still outside his crease, presumably to return it to Miraz.

However, the Bangladesh spinner retrieved the ball first and promptly threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end, appealing for a run out. The on-field umpire sent the decision upstairs to third official Kumar Dharmasena, who awarded the dismissal after consulting repays, ending the 109-run partnership between Rizwan and Agha.

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Agha, who scored 64 from 62 balls, failed to hide his disappointment, throwing his helmet at the ground in disgust before begrudgingly walking off the field.

“As far as the Laws were concerned, he was out, but sportsmanship? I’m afraid that got a massive hit,” former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said on commentary.

“(He was) just about to pick up the ball, give it back to the bowler.”

Agha’s dismissal sparked a collapse of 7-43, with Pakistan ultimately bowled out for 274.

Asked about his dismissal during the post-match press conference, Agha revealed that he thought he couldn’t be run out because the ball struck his pad and bat. However, this doesn’t constitute a dead ball.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” he said.

“What he has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this previously, we would never do that in the future as well.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that.”

Agha also confessed he regretted his dummy spit, adding: “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff. If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

Asked if he had made up with Mehidy, Agha replied: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Even if the ball was dead, Bangladesh could have appealed for obstructing the field if Agha had picked up the ball.

Article 37.4 of the Law of Cricket states: “Either batter is out obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, they use the bat or any part of their person to return the ball to any fielder.”

Bangladesh was bowled out for 114 during the run chase, with Pakistan sealing a 128-run via the DLS Method to equal the three-match series at 1-1.

The final ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan gets underway at Mirpur’s Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday at 7.15pm AEDT.

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