Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus has raised concerns over practice arrangements before his team’s big clash against India national cricket team in Delhi.
The two sides meet in a night game on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. But Namibia have not trained under lights ahead of the match.
Namibia earlier played the Netherlands in a morning match at the same venue. Before facing India, they were given only a 2 to 5 PM training slot on the eve of the game.
Erasmus said his team was not offered any night session, even though India trained under lights on both February 10 and 11. Canada also had a night session on February 11.
“Yeah, we haven’t been given a night training session before this game, I don’t know why. I think India has two night training sessions and I see outside that Canada will have a night training now, so make of that what you want, but we’ll just rock up and do our Namibian way, which is to fight,” Erasmus said.
He made it clear that training under lights is not a small issue for his players.
“We haven’t got any floodlights in Namibia… the day/night games,” he added, pointing to the lack of facilities back home.
Erasmus explained that most of his squad is not used to playing regularly under lights. Only those who have featured in leagues like the Nepal Premier League, ILT20, or past World Cups have some experience.
“Infrastructure wise it’s probably the challenge for us, so yeah it’s not a casual thing for guys that don’t have experience… you don’t really get accustomed to lights and training under it very often,” he said.
Namibia come into this game as clear underdogs. They are also looking to bounce back after losing to the Netherlands in their previous match.
Still, the African side sees a small opportunity. India have had some recent batting struggles, and Namibia hope to put pressure early if conditions help under lights.
After facing India, Namibia will travel to Chennai to play USA on February 15, and then take on Pakistan in Colombo on February 18. India’s next big test is also against Pakistan.
For now, all eyes are on Delhi. Namibia feel they are not on a level playing field, but Erasmus insists his team will compete hard.
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