Mushfiqur Rahim, the first Bangladesh batter to be dismissed for ‘obstructing the field’ in Test cricket, took fifteen wickets on the opening day in Dhaka.

Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain who was commentating on TV at the moment, appeared taken aback by Mushfiqur’s dismissal, which belied his abilities.

“A cricketer who has played over 80 Tests should know he can’t do that,” Tamim said on air on Wednesday. “Practice habits can make this happen. In the nets, batters often take the ball in hand and return it back to the bowler. Maybe Mushfiqur did it unconsciously and extended his hands. But this obviously can’t be an excuse.”

Mushfiqur’s dismissal is a welcome distraction on a day when most Bangladesh batters played weak strokes. After three early wickets, they appeared to be on the mend, but Mushfiqur was removed in the 41st over when he defended a delivery from Kyle Jamieson and then used his right hand to swat the ball away. After New Zealand quickly appealed, TV umpire Ahsan Raza called him out.

“Yeah, it’s probably not a great option, because he was looking so good. I mean it was handy for us in terms of the time he and Shahadat applied themselves and that was a very good partnership for them,” Santner said.

Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan, on the other hand, refused to criticise the veteran campaigner.

“Look this one was not intentional, it just happened with the flow. Nobody wants to get out knowingly,” said Mehidy. “There are lot of things going around at the back of the mind during different situations in a game.

“In the World Cup, we got a timed-out dismissal against a Sri Lankan batter in our favour but today what happened with Mushfiq bhai, it all happened in a flow. When I am batting after playing a shot and when the ball is coming near the stumps, you have to make quick decisions about what you can do and what you can’t. Certainly he didn’t do that intentionally.”

Regardless of how he was dismissed, Mushfiqur was the standout batsman of the day, exhibiting authority and control on a field that was a haven for slower bowlers. Furthermore, he did so despite feeling pain in his left calf muscle after being hit there. Later on, he began hobbling, and his facial expressions clearly indicated that he was having difficulty batting in the middle.

Previously, these dismissals were classified ‘handled the ball,’ but a modification in the statutes in 2017 moved them to the ‘obstructing the field’ category.

According to Law 37.1.2, “the striker is out obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, he/she wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat while receiving a ball delivered by the bowler.” This is true whether it is the first or second or subsequent strike. Receiving the ball entails both playing at the ball and striking the ball more than once in defense of his/her wicket.”