It was a disappointing start for Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup 2023 as they suffered a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. In addition, their crucial off-spin all-rounder Mujeeb Ur Rahman almost got injured while trying to save a boundary in the outfield as his knee got stuck in the stand.
The incident took place in the 30th over of Bangladesh's run chase. Shakib Al Hasan played a sweep shot against Rashid Khan. Mujeeb at deep square leg boundary but his knee got stuck. Commentators Nasser Hussain and Matthew Hayden were critical of the outfield conditions as they compared it to a local ground shown during the aerial view of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.
Afghanistan's head coach looked visibly unhappy with the outfield as he said in the post-match press conference, “We see in cricket players being encouraged to improve their fielding but if they are afraid to dive, I mean we’re lucky Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) didn’t have a serious knee injury towards the end. We saw Devon Conway from New Zealand early on as well. Something for them to look at but I’m definitely not putting any blame on that for our loss today.”
On the other hand, Shakib did not complain about the outfield conditions as he said in the post-match presentation, “Wasn't easy for few players, but happy with the way we batted and bowled. We have been practising here. We need to adapt to these things (tough outfields) if we want to win.”
Adjudged 'Player of the match' for taking three wickets and scoring a century, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was of a similar opinion as his captain. "The outfield was a little heavy," he said. "The ball wasn't travelling a lot. But you can't blame the outfield… you have to perform in every situation."
This is not the first instance of Dharamsala outfield has been in the news for wrong reasons. Earlier this year, the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy between India and Australia was shifted out due to 'lack of grass density' in the outfield.
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