ODI World Cup 2023, ENG vs BAN: Buttler dubs HPCA stadium outfield as 'poor'; rules out Stokes

England captain Jos Buttler expressed his concerns over the rough outfield at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. ICC also deemed the Dharamshala outfield as 'average' after the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan World Cup game on Saturday. 

Mujeeb Ur Rehman while diving near the outfield went through an injury scare as his knee stuck on the ground. This incident showcased the poor outfield which could result in multiple injuries if not taken care of. Even in the first ODI World Cup game, Devon Conway went through a similar event at the Ahmedabad outfield.

Also Read: ODI World Cup 2023: Unwell Shubman Gill to miss clash against Afghanistan, confirms BCCI

England captain Jos Buttler wasn't having any of it for the England vs Bangladesh game as he publicly expressed his concern and disappointment as well. The England cricket team will be playing at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala against Bangladesh on Tuesday. 

Jos Buttler said, "Yeah, a few (concerns) I think. It's poor in my own opinion. I think any time you're sort of talking about being careful diving or sort of being careful when you're fielding, it sort of goes against everything you want to be as a team.

You know you want to dive through our houses to save a run. So, that's obviously not ideal, the way the surface is, the outfield. The outfield is different from when we played here in the IPL. So yeah, I think it will probably take guys a couple of balls probably to get used to it. But they are professionals, they'll adapt."

He also talked about Ben Stokes in the pre-match press conference. Jos Buttler confirmed that Ben Stokes will miss the Afghanistan clash on Tuesday. Ben Stokes has joined training sessions but he is still building his match fitness. 

Even Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott criticized the outfield of Dharamshala after the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan match recently. He also gave the example of the Devon Conway incident trying to draw the attention of officials to improve the overall conditions for the rest of the ODI World Cup 2023.