World attention on the controversial run-out in the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan (video)

A run-out that sparked a heated debate about the spirit of the game occurred in the second match of the tri-nation ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur last Friday. Pakistani batsman Salman Ali Agha has stated that if he were in that situation, he would have acted differently than how Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz did.

This controversial incident occurred in the 39th over of Pakistan's innings when Mohammad Rizwan hit Mehidy's delivery back towards the bowler. The ball traveled towards Agha at the non-striker's end, and as the bowler came forward to field it, the two players collided. At that moment, both Agha, who was out of his crease, and Mehidy attempted to pick up the ball. Mehidy, who got to the ball first, immediately broke the stumps with an underarm flick.

Following the appeal for this dismissal by the Bangladeshi players, on-field umpire Tanvir Ahmed referred it to the third umpire. Accordingly, third umpire Kumar Dharmasena confirmed that Agha was out of his crease when the stumps were broken and ruled him out.

With Agha's dismissal, who had scored 64 runs off 62 balls for Pakistan's innings at that point, the valuable 109-run partnership between him and Rizwan for the fourth wicket came to an end. This partnership had been built when Pakistan was in a difficult situation, having lost 3 wickets for 18 runs after an opening partnership of 103 runs.

Speaking to the media after the match, which Pakistan won by 128 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method, Agha stated that it was merely an instantaneous event that occurred in the heat of the moment. While acknowledging that Mehidy acted in accordance with the rules of the game, he further mentioned that he always believes in prioritizing the spirit of the game over the law, and if he were in that position, he would have made a different decision for the sake of the spirit of the game.

Explaining his position outside the batting crease, Agha stated that he thought a dismissal was not possible because the ball had hit his foot and back. He emphasized that he had no intention of scoring a run and only tried to return the ball to the bowler, but Mehidy might have acted with a different intention.

Agha, who led the Pakistan team in the last T20 World Cup, further stated that his team has not made such dismissals in the past and will never resort to such actions in the future.

When asked about the heated exchange of words between him and Miraz after the dismissal, he said that he believes friendly words were not exchanged from either side, but he doesn't exactly remember what was said now. However, he pointed out that all of it happened due to the heat of the game and emphasized that although he hasn't spoken to Mehidy about this yet, he will do so in the future, and there is no ill will between the two of them.

Watch the video related to this incident ›