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Who: India vs Namibia
Content: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 – Group A
Date and time: Thursday 12 February 7pm (13:30 GMT)
Location: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, India
How to follow and stream: Al Jazeera’s live text and photo stream begins at 10:30 GMT
Namibia will be looking to make the most of an Indian team plagued by illnesses and injuries when they take on the defending champions in Thursday’s Group A match.
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India is likely to play the match without opener Abhishek Sharma, who was hospitalized with a stomach problem on Tuesday.
Sharma was sent off on the eve of the match, but his presence in the playing eleven is in doubt.
The world’s top-ranked T20I batsman struggled in India’s opening match against the US.
“He was discharged from hospital today. He is doing well,” Indian batsman Tilak Verma told reporters.
“There’s one more day in the game. I hope he makes up his mind by tomorrow and follows suit.”
The good news for the world champions is that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is expected to return after missing the opening race due to fever.
Namibia expects ‘amazing sights’
Meanwhile, Namibia will be looking to overcome Tuesday’s heavy defeat against the Netherlands and claim a shock victory over the two-time world champions.
Africa team coach Craig Williams admitted his team faces a tough challenge against India, but is keen to take on the pre-tournament favorites.
“Playing India in India will be a great game for us and the spectacle will be great for everyone back home,” Williams said before the match.
“As a professional team, we want to put on a good show, hopefully stick to our game plan and see what happens in the end.”
Williams said the key to Namibia’s chances will be strong batting performances at the top of the pecking order.
“We need someone in the top four to bat for a long period of time and for that we need a partnership,” the former cricketer said.
“It won’t be easy against India, but if we can stick to our game plan and work one ball at a time, we hope the result will go our way.”
Form Guide: India
India continued their title-winning campaign in 2024 with an eight-match unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup.
They lost one of their five T20Is against New Zealand last month.
Last 5 games (most recent first): WWWWW
Form Guide: Namibia
One of the biggest results in Namibia’s cricket history came in October when they defeated 2024 finalists South Africa by four wickets.
They haven’t been lucky enough to play internationally regularly, but could be a challenge if one of their key players makes an impact.
Last 5 games (most recent first): LWLWW
Team News: India
Although the Indian national team has been hit by various illnesses and injuries, Suryakumar Yadav’s team has enough strength on the bench to pick up another victory.
Bumrah will return to the eleven in place of substitute Mohammed Siraj, while Sanju Samson could replace Sharma at the top.
Expected eleven: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
Team News: Namibia
Namibia may use the same eleven they used in their loss to the Netherlands, hoping for the result to be the other way around this time.
Prediction XI: Lauren Steenkamp, Jan Frirink, Jan Nicol Lofty-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), J.J. Smit, Zane Green (wicketkeeper), Dylan Reicher, Willem Myburg, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholz, Max Heingo.
