Team India will look to make it two wins in two matches at the 2026 T20 World Cup when they take on Namibia in a Group A match in Delhi on Thursday. The Men in Blue’s match against Namibia comes just three days before their marquee match against arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led side had beaten the United States of America by 29 runs in their tournament opener on 7 February, and will once again begin as favorites against Namibia.
India had been put into bat in that match, and were in a spot of bother at 77/6 at one stage. However, Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with an unbeaten 84 to lead his team to 161/9. India defended that total by restricting the USA to 132/8 from 20 overs.
Issues that India needs to address
India do have a few issues that they need to address before the game against Namibia. Opener Abhishek Sharma had been admitted to a hospital in Delhi due to a stomach bug, leaving his participation in the Namibia game in doubt.
His teammate Tilak Varma, though, said that Abhishek had been discharged from the hospital, but added that a call on his participation against Namibia would be taken later.
“When we reached Delhi, he (Abhishek) had been examined. He went to the hospital for the examination. So I think he has been discharged today, and he’s doing well. We have got one more day for the game, so hopefully we’ll decide by tomorrow (Thursday) how he feels, and we’ll go with it,” Tilak said during the pre-match press conference in Delhi on Wednesday.
Should Abhishek Sharma not play against Namibia, then that could open the door for Sanju Samson’s inclusion in the playing XI.
The Kerala batter’s recent form, however, has been worrisome. He aggregated just 46 runs from five T20Is against New Zealand at a strike-rate of 135.29.
Samson did not play India’s T20 World Cup opener against the USA, with Ishan Kishan taking his place. If Samson does replace Abhishek in the playing XI against Namibia, that will give him an opportunity to rediscover his best form once again and silence his critics.
Another change in the offing for India could be the return of their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah. The Gujarat pacer had missed the clash against the USA due to a viral fever, but now he looks set to return for the match against Namibia.
He will all but replace Mohammad Siraj, who had played against the USA in Bumrah’s absence. Siraj returned with figures of 3/29 from four overs in that match. “Bumrah has been bowling after a 10-day break, and he’s feeling a lot better. He’s moving well and will bowl again today,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said.
As far as the spin department is concerned, Varun Chakravarthy looks set to retain his place in the playing XI over Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar has joined the India squad ahead of the match against Namibia.
However, he is unlikely to make the playing XI for the Namibia game. Sundar had injured himself during the ODI series against New Zealand in January, and eventually missed the rest of the limited-overs series.
India predicted playing XI vs Namibia
Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakravarthy.
