With Abhishek Sharma hospitalised with a stomach bug, Sanju Samson is set to get another opportunity at the top of the order in Thursday's match against Namibia.
Key Points
- Abhishek Sharma, who has been hospitalised with a stomach infection, is set to miss India's second match against Namibia.
- Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is set to be back in the playing XI.
- India could also include Kuldeep Yadav alongside Varun Chakravarthy.
Team India will be keen to rediscover their best form with the bat when they take on Namibia in their second match of the T20 World Cup in Delhi on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
Defending champions India avoided a potential banana skin as they registered a hard-earned 29 run victory against USA in their opening game on Saturday.
On a slightly testing pitch, India's explosive batting line-up were guilty of not respecting the conditions or the opposition as they looked to hit every ball out of the park.
Things looked quite precarious for India when they slipped to 46/4 in the sixth over before Suryakumar Yadav's stellar knock saved them the blushes. The skipper continued his recent red-hot form, with a timely knock of 84 from 49 balls, single-handedly propelling India past the 160-run mark.
Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) were the only other Indian batters to get past the 20 run mark. Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube fell for ducks, while Rinku Singh and Hardik Singh scored five and six respectively.
The bowlers lived up to expectations. Mohammed Siraj, who came into the World Cup as an overnight replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, starred with the ball with figures of 3/29. Arshdeep Singh was reliable as ever with the ball with impressive figures of 2/18 in four overs and Axar Patel took 2/24.
But as has been the trend in the opening few games of the T20 World Cup, associate member teams like Nepal and The Netherlands came closing to pulling off memorable victories.
Nepal were one hit away from taking down 2010 champion England while the Dutch will rue not taking their chances, letting 2009 winners Pakistan to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
India will be aware that they cannot afford to be complacent against Namibia, who are playing their fourth straight T20 World Cup. Their best result came in their debut in 2021 when they reached the Super 12 stage, beating The Netherlands.
Namibia suffered a seven wicket defeat against The Netherlands in their opening match. They lost wickets in a heap in the closing stages after they were put into bat, while they also struggled to make an impression with the ball.
They will look for a huge improvement from that below-par performance when facing the Indians, who on their day can prove to be unstoppable.
India will target a big win against Namibia to lock in the confidence and momentum ahead of the all-important game against Pakistan on Sunday.
India have a few fitness concerns going into the match against Namibia. Abhishek Sharma has been hospitalised with a stomach bug and is likely to miss Thursday's match with Sanju Samson set to get another opportunity at the top of the order.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the first game against the USA with illness, bowled at full tilt in the nets and could play against Namibia to get his rhythm back after the break.
It will be interesting to see whether replaces Siraj or Arshdeep, both of whom bowled well in the first game.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav could also be included for either Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh as India could try out a few combinations ahead of the Pakistan game.
Probable XI: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Shivam Dube/Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah/Arshdeep Singh.
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