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During the ODI World Cup 2023 matchup between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the scary moment involving Mujeeb Ur Rahman, when he jarred his knee while diving, prompted the head coach Jonathan Trott to slam the poor condition of the outfield at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala. But fortunately for the team management and the fans of the Afghanistan cricket team, the right-arm spin bowler escaped without suffering a major injury.
For the unversed, Bangladesh got the better of Afghanistan by six wickets in their opening match of the ODI World Cup 2023, to register first points on the standings. The bowling lineup of Bangladesh bundled out Afghanistan for 156 runs with Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz picking up three wickets each before Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz brought up their fifties to take their team over the line for a comfortable victory.
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After the tough loss against Bangladesh, the head coach of Afghanistan, Jonathan Trott was quoted as saying about the outfield at the stadium in Dharamsala, as per Times of India, “If you've got players unsure of whether they can dive… we see the product of cricket all around the world where players are encouraged to improve their fielding.”
“And when you've got players worried about getting injured… I mean, we are lucky Mujeeb hasn't got a serious knee injury towards the end,” he added.
A BCCI source also told TOI about the outfield of the HPCA Stadium, mentioning that a heavy shower could make it beyond repair for the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. "The ground staff in Dharamsala have been praying that there is no rain during the course of the World Cup. A spell of heavy rain could make it beyond repair. The outfield isn't even 10 per cent of what it looked like during the IPL earlier in the year. BCCI didn't change the venue because there have already been many changes in the schedule of the tournament," a BCCI source was quoted.