Image Source- ICC
Jonathan Trott, the head coach of Afghanistan,
believes Mujeeb Ur Rahman was fortunate to avoid serious damage after his left
knee slammed into the sand during a dive during Afghanistan’s six-wicket loss
to Bangladesh on Saturday.
Patchy and spongy grass on the outfield caused
numerous players from both teams to lose their footing. Azmat Omarzai fell over
while attempting to save a boundary off what turned out to be the penultimate
ball of the game, and Mujeeb appeared to damage his knee when diving to stop a
Shakib Al Hasan sweep.
Trott made it plain that he did not take the blame for
Afghanistan’s lopsided loss on the state of the outfield and claimed it was not
within his purview to “make an assessment” regarding the suitability
of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium to hold World Cup matches.
He urged that the ICC look at the calibre of outfields around the nation, but
he said that it had not improved the spectacle.
“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, encouraged to improve their fielding,” he said. “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.
“Yes, he probably shouldn’t have dived with his
knee. But we saw the other night [in Ahmedabad], Devon Conway from New Zealand
early on as well, so it’s something for them [the organisers] to look at. I’m
definitely not putting any blame on that, but that’s something to keep an eye
on for the future.”
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was named Player of the Match
for his 3 for 25 and 57 in 73, said that the outfield had been on the slow
side. “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.”