Dharamsala outfield raises concerns for players' safety

[wanted_desi]

 

Quote

 

The condition of the outfield at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala was once again called into question in what was its first game of the 2023 World Cup. The outfield had looked patchy and devoid of enough grass cover even on the eve of the game, and nearly led to an injury in Saturday's fixture. Afghanistan's Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman attempted a dive at deep backward square leg but ended up jamming his knee into the hard ground and fell awkwardly as some of the mud kicked up on impact.

A member of the Afghanistan team management told Cricbuzz that in the current condition, the venue isn't ready for international cricket. "Yeah, it is sad to see. It is a beautiful place to play cricket...it [outfield] is not ready for international cricket. Not okay. Right now it is not good for international cricket. Maybe it is because of rain... but yeah it is not ready now," he said.

"The curator says lots of rain happened but if it continues like this, someone will get injured on the ground. No one wants to dive or slide and in cricket you should be able to do that," he added.

 

This isn't the first time the outfield has been under the scanner. Earlier this year, the third Test between India and Australia was shifted out owing to the 'lack of grass density' in the outfield. In mid-September, there was reported to have been a fungus infestation on the outfield that had to be sorted out quickly.

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott revealed that the conditions were such that players were unsure of whether they could dive, and that Mujeeb was lucky to get away without a serious injury.

"If you've got players unsure of whether they can dive...," Trott said in the post-match press conference. "We see the product of cricket all around the world where players are taught and encouraged to improve their fielding. Then when you've got players worried about getting injured... we're lucky Mujeeb hasn't got a serious knee injury towards the end."

"Yes he probably shouldn't have dived with his knee but I think it was Devon Conway earlier from New Zealand... It's something for them [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," he said.

In just two more days' time, the next game at this venue - between Bangladesh and England - will take place while India will play New Zealand here on October 22. It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken to the effect of moving matches out of the venue.

 

 

[Lord]

terrible stadium. Not fit for even FC

[cowboysfan]

BCCI and that idiot incompetent mota Shah have brought shame to India again,this has been an unmitigated disaster starting from the the tickets,the venues and scheduling.

[vvvslaxman]

They have Mohali where we don't play any matches lol

[wanted_desi]

Dharmasala always have been in negative news, do people remember fungus report a month back or so. They should have just moved matches to Mohali, which is better suited to host international matches. Again it is all politics to have match in Dharmasala instead of Mohali, which is the best ground in that region. 

[figo6762]

For an ignorant person , what is the politics that makes BCCi pick this venue over mohali

[Lord]

Dharamsala hasn't even a Test IIRC but gets WC games

 

Mohali doesn't even get warmup games

[cowboysfan]

18 minutes ago, figo6762 said:

For an ignorant person , what is the politics that makes BCCi pick this venue over mohali

another crook Anurag Thakur,i dont know why he wants all high profile matches in Dharamsala when he cant even be bothered to make the venue international standard.

[Lord]

2 minutes ago, cowboysfan said:

another crook Anurag Thakur,i dont know why he wants all high profile matches in Dharamsala when he cant even be bothered to make the venue international standard.

 

another nepo product.

[cowboysfan]

Just now, Lord said:

 

another nepo product.

these assholes have too much time on their hands,they want all credit but dont want to even do the basic work .

[cricketfan28]

too bad, such  a scenic stadium.

[figo6762]

Seems like gross mismanagement , lack of pride from the local cricket association 

[Frustrated]

Was the entite outfield dangerous?  Or was it only a patch on the outfield where there was no grass?  It's not very clear from that article.  

[Number]

Pretty sure ICC does inspect the ground before giving a go ahead. Sometimes it's the poor sliding technique which causes too much impact on knee. There must have been other players diving and sliding too and it looked alright to me. 

[sensible-indian]

Not a single good news reg this WC.

 

Must be a record.

[Lord]

43 minutes ago, Number said:

Pretty sure ICC does inspect the ground before giving a go ahead. Sometimes it's the poor sliding technique which causes too much impact on knee. There must have been other players diving and sliding too and it looked alright to me. 

 

ICC pitch inspector did raise a huge concern

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/icc-world-cup/ahead-of-world-cup-concerns-over-fungus-infected-dharamsala-outfield/articleshow/103703354.cms

[Vijy]

it was/is really very poor. should be disbarred.