Ramiz Raja passes ‘no room for friendliness’ verdict after Salman Agha-Mehidy Hasan run-out row escalates

Ramiz Raja said that there's no room for friendliness in international sport. His comment came shortly after Salman Agha was run out by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Former Pakistan batter Ramiz Raja brought a much-needed reality check to the fore after Salman Agha was run out by Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the second ODI of the three-match series on Friday in Dhaka. The “sportsman spirit” has once again become the hot keyword after Agha fumed in anger following his dismissal at the hands of the spinner. The incident happened in the 39th over, when Mohammad Rizwan played the ball back to Mehidy. Agha bent forward to give the ball back to the Bangladesh captain; however, Mehidy got hold of it first, and his underarm throw found Agha short of his crease at the non-striker's end.

Pakistan's Salman Agha (L) plays a shot. (AFP)

After the OUT verdict was displayed on the big screen, Agha lost his cool and vented his frustration at Mehidy and the rest of Bangladesh with a few words.

Speaking about the entire row, Raja said that the game is played differently today and the teams are always looking for moments to capitalise; hence, there's no room for friendliness.

“I come from a different school of thought. Today, the game is played differently; teams go for the jugular the moment they see an opportunity! This was outside the sportsmen’s spirit. But he was well within his rights to get that run out. Agha's intention here was to do a good deed. You never do that to the opposition,” said Raja on air during the mid-innings show.

“Agha’s stern reaction was obvious. The intentions of both players were very different. One player was trying to run the other out while the second one was trying to be friendly. And there’s no room for friendliness in this contest. I would give Bangladesh a 10 out of 100 for this. They could have done a bit better,” he added.

What did Agha and Mehidy say about the incident?

After Pakistan's 128-run win under the DLS method in the second ODI, both Agha and Mehidy reacted to the controversy, offering different versions. Mehidy said that Agha would have gone for a run had he failed to collect the ball, and hence he went for the run-out.

On the other hand, Agha admitted he was wrong to react angrily when he was dismissed. However, he said that if he were in Mehidy's place, he wouldn't have issued such a dismissal. He also confirmed he didn't speak to Mehidy after the game, but there's no bad blood between the two.

With the win in the second ODI, Pakistan levelled the three-match series, and the decider will now be played on Sunday, March 15.