MCC backs Salman Agha run out and confirms the Pakistan batter was legally out

The second game of the recently concluded 3-match ODI series between the hosts Bangladesh and the visitors Pakistan was in controversy due to Pakistan cricketer Salman Agha's run out. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) law has now clarified that controversial dismissal.

Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan had a crucial 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket in the first innings of that second ODI at Mirpur on March 13. That strong partnership was broken through the controversial run-out, where Salman was on the non-striker end when the ball stopped. The Pakistan T20I captain was out of the crease at the non-striker-end while he was trying to grab the ball and hand it to the bowler, but the bowler Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was also Bangladesh captain, grabbed the ball quickly and threw to the stumps to successfully dismiss the Pakistan batter, who scored 64 runs of 62 balls. 

Pakistan team, including Salman Agha, felt that the dismissal was against the spirit of the game, although he was rightfully given out. 

See Also: Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman hails Bangladesh Cricket Team after ODI series win over Pakistan

The MCC rules the ball remained in play despite the collision with Mehidy Hasan Miraz

The MCC has now clarified about that controversial dismissal, as its law clarifies that the non-striker was clearly out as the ball was in play. 

MCC comes with an official statement that says, "Under Laws, there is little that either umpire could have done differently. The non-striker was clearly out of his ground when the wicket was broken, and the ball was in play. That is out."

Guardians of the law say Salman Agha risked an extra penalty for touching the ball

The MCC has clarified that the batter should never attempt to pick the ball up without the consent of the fielding side, where the status clarifies about Salman's controversial run-out dismissal. 

In fact, if Salman picked that ball up, he could be out under the law of obstructing the field.

The custodians of the Laws of the game stated, "It is also worth pointing out that the non-striker had left his ground when the ball was in play and had just started to attempt to regain his ground when he collided with Mehidy. Furthermore, no batter should attempt to pick the ball up without the consent of the fielding side, and had he done so, he would have been at risk of an Obstructing the field dismissal. In retrospect, he would have been better using that time to attempt to regain his ground."

The MCC has also clarified why the ball wasn't called dead, as there was no serious collision, and the bowling team felt the ball was live. 

The statement further claimed, "There have been some suggestions that the ball should have been treated as Dead. That is not viable under the Laws; the ball does not become dead when players collide - if it did, that would incentivise players to seek out collisions when the situation was advantageous. There was no question of a serious injury, so there could be no call of Dead ball for that. It could not have been clear to the umpire that all the players ceased to consider the ball to be in play, since Mehidy clearly believed it was live, even if Agha did not. And it cannot have been finally settled in the hands of the bowler or wicket-keeper, since it was on the ground."