Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has finally spoken about the bizarre run-out that lit up the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka, saying his angry reaction was born out of the moment, even if he still feels the incident could have been handled differently.
The Salman Ali Agha run-out
The dismissal came during Pakistan’s innings at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, in a phase where they appeared well placed. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, bowling the 39th over, saw a ball played back in his direction by Mohammad Rizwan. The ball made its way towards Salman at the non-striker’s end, with Miraz and the batter crossing paths in the process.
Salman appeared to assume the ball was effectively dead and bent down to return it, only for Miraz to stay alert, collect it himself and break the stumps with Salman outside his crease. Pakistan’s stand-in skipper was furious at the time, exchanging words with Miraz and Litton Das before trudging off. Pakistan then lost shape for a while, slipping from 231 for 3 as wickets tumbled soon after. Pakistan eventually recovered to beat Bangladesh by 128 runs via DLS and level the series 1-1.
Agha says he would have chosen sportsmanship
Speaking after the game, Salman did not deny his frustration. He admitted that he was carried away in the moment but also made it clear that, from his point of view, the spirit of the game should matter as much as the law.
“I can tell you what happened after that. I’m sure everyone has seen it, but it was just a ‘heat of the moment’ kind of thing. If you ask me what I would have done, I would have handled it differently. However, everything that happened afterward was the heat of the moment,” Agha said.
When asked whether the dismissal was within the spirit of cricket, Agha drew a line between what is legal and what he personally believes is right.
“Well, it is in the laws. I am someone who always wants to follow the law, but when it comes to the sportsman spirit, I think that has to be held higher, no matter the situation. Regarding what he did within the law, if he thinks it is right, that it’s his choice. But if you ask for my perspective, I would have acted differently; I would have gone for the spirit of sportsmanship,” he said.
He also played down the verbal spat with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, saying neither side was exactly polite in the heat of the exchange. “I can’t remember what I was saying, and I can’t remember what he was saying. I’m sure I didn’t say nice things, and I’m really sure he didn’t say nice things either. But it was just the heat of the moment. We are fine,” Agha said.
Bangladesh defend Miraz’s call
Bangladesh, unsurprisingly, saw the moment rather differently. Spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed backed his captain and said Miraz had simply reacted to what he saw in front of him.
“It happened so quickly that we did not immediately understand what occurred. Miraz thought the batsman was outside the crease and was attempting to stop the ball. It seems the ball went straight to Miraz’s legs, and at the same time, the batsman was trying to pick the ball up and give it back to Miraz,” Mushtaq said.
“From my perspective, it was just a natural instinct for Miraz to look to pick the ball up and attempt a run-out because the batsman was outside his crease. I don’t believe either party was intentionally in the wrong; the batsman tried to be helpful while Miraz was simply very focused on the game and saw an opportunity for a run-out,” he added.
Agha, for his part, insisted there would be no lasting issue with Miraz once tempers cooled. “I haven’t yet talked to Miraz, but we will. Don’t worry, we are fine,” he said.
