WATCH: Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman Survives Nasty Tumble In Dharamsala, Coach Jonathan Trott Slams Outfield, Says THIS

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman too a nasty tumble in their first ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday. Mujeeb was lucky to survive without any significant injury as Afghanistan lost by six wickets to Bangladesh.

Afghanistan head coach and former England batter Jonathan Trott slammed the condition of the outfield the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala and attributed it to sheer luck that players avoided injuries during the match on October 7.

“I don’t think that’s a decision for me to sit here and make an assessment of. I just think if you’ve got players unsure of whether they can dive, we see the product of cricket all around the world where players are taught and encouraged to improve their fielding. And when you’ve got players worried about getting injured, I mean, we’re lucky Mujeeb he hasn’t got a serious knee injury towards the end. Yes, he probably shouldn’t have dived on his knee, but we saw so I think it was Devon Conway from New Zealand early on as well,” Trott said in the post-match press conference in Dharamsala on Saturday.

WATCH Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman take a tumble in Dharamsala HERE…

I wonder if there is going to be any issues raised about this going forwards. pic.twitter.com/0A1C5vkf2S — simon hughes (@theanalyst) October 7, 2023

Although Trott expressed hope that officials would address the outfield issue, he clarified that he was not attributing the loss to the field conditions. “So, something for them to look at, but it's not the reason why we lost today. I’m definitely not putting any blame on that, but that's something to keep an eye on for the future, hopefully,” Trott added.

Team India are scheduled to play New Zealand the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on October 22. Notably, the outfield, particularly near the boundary, at the Dharamsala stadium was re-laid before the tournament. The stadium is slated to host four additional World Cup matches in the days to come.

Nonetheless, Trott conveyed optimism regarding Afghanistan’s prospects in upcoming matches, highlighting the team’s capability to bounce back after their first defeat. He remarked, “I’d like to see us bounce back. I think, obviously, we know the areas we need to improve. And we've got two big games in Delhi now against India and then England. So, we’ve got to dust ourselves off. We travel tomorrow to Delhi. A couple of practices and then a big match against India, which is going to be a great spectacle. I know the boys will be really, really up for it.”

Afghanistan will take on Team India next at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday (October 11).