Colombo, February 18 – Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat against Namibia in their Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Wednesday at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
To qualify for the Super 8s, Pakistan must defeat Namibia in their final league match. The pressure on Pakistan has increased after a heavy 61-run defeat to India, continuing a troubling pattern that also included losses in the Asia Cup and recent editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Senior players Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have faced criticism for poor performances, with Shaheen struggling for control and Babar continuing to show vulnerability against spin. Captain Salman Agha and his team are now in a must-win situation to avoid elimination.
Namibia, though already out of contention, will aim to finish on a positive note. Their campaign has been affected by inconsistent bowling, including a dip in form from Ruben Trumpelmann, and modest batting returns from captain Gerhard Erasmus. Despite their struggles, Namibia will look to gain confidence and valuable experience ahead of co-hosting the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Pakistan has made two changes to their lineup with Salman Mirza and Khawaja Nafay replacing Afridi and Abrar Ahmed.
Winning the toss, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha said, "We are going to bat first. We have played two games here. It is a good pitch. We just want to score above par and put them under pressure with the scoreboard pressure. We have been here like previously as well. And when you come to the World Cup like this, you have fixtures like that. You pretty much have to win every single game, and we are ready for the game. The batting has just been a concern for us. We need to bat well. We have batted well against USA. We need to do the similar kind of performance today as well."
Meanwhile, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus said, “I really like it around here. It's kind of warm, which is a custom. We're accustomed to that in Namibia and really enjoying a little bit of sweat. I guess we want to, you know, live up to our reputation as a good T20 side. We haven't quite hit our straps in all facets. I think we've competed for large amounts of the games, but you really need to do that against good teams for 40 overs, don't you?”
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan (wk), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq
Namibia: Jan Frylinck, Louren Steenkamp, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Alexander Volschenk, Ruben Trumplemann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Jack Brassell
