England captain Jos Buttler lashed out the outfield in Dharamsala ahead of the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium.

Ahead of England's crucial match against Bangladesh in the 2023 ODI World Cup, captain Jos Buttler slammed the poor outfield of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala.

Defending champions England will be desperate to win the game after starting their season with a humiliating nine-wicket loss to New Zealand last week. But before the important game, the much-discussed outfield of HPCA Stadium has captured all the attention.

Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) rated the Dharamsala outfield as “average” after the match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh on Saturday, October 7.

But despite doubts about the outfield, the game between England and the Tigers will go ahead as planned on Tuesday October 10.

Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan's coach, said Mujeeb was "lucky" to avoid serious injury and contacted the England players to update them on the condition of the outfield. But the ICC said independent pitch consultant Andy Atkinson inspected the outfield on Sunday and was "satisfied" with it - as was umpire Javagal Srinath.

Jos Buttler on Dharamsala’s “poor” outfield:

The surface of the HPCA stadium has been treated with sand, which could cause a problem or two for the players. During the match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was fortunate to avoid a serious injury after he badly jammed his left knee while trying to stop a boundary in the outfield.

And Jos Buttler isn't shy about voicing his concerns: "I think it's bad." Every time you talk about careful diving it goes against everything you want to be as a team.

“You want to dive through a row of houses to save a run. But we won't use it as an excuse. We will adapt to it. But if you feel like you have to hold back, that's certainly not a place you want to be as a team or as a player in a World Cup game," he added.

Jos Buttler was also asked by the BBC if he was happy with the game in Dharamsala. In response, the England captain said: "The powers that be are comfortable, so... the only thing I would ask is whether the integrity of the game is really being called into question by telling players not to dive and stuff like that. “Do you want to be able to? In the worst case scenario, something bad happens, but it doesn’t happen to both teams.”

“Injuries can happen at any time and on any surface. But I think it's definitely a situation where you have to be a little careful, which is not what you want to do when you're playing for your country. It's not as good as it could be or should be. We won’t use it as an excuse, we just have to be a bit smart,” he added.