Abhishek Sharma, the swashbuckling opening batter, will miss the T20 World Cup 2026 match against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The left-handed batter from Punjab was not named in the playing XI on Thursday, and this was confirmed by Suryakumar Yadav, the India captain at the toss. The 25-year-old was hospitalised on the eve of the game due to a stomach infection. He was discharged on Wednesday afternoon; however, he did not attend the training sessions.
Considering a high-profile match against Pakistan is scheduled for February 15 in Colombo, the management decided not to risk Abhishek and give him time to recover for the marquee Group A encounter set to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium. In place of Abhishek, Sanju Samson came into the playing XI, while the management also made another change, bringing in Jasprit Bumrah in the place of Mohammed Siraj.
“Abhishek is still not fine. He will take a game or two, I don’t know. So Sanju comes in for Abhishek. Similar batter, explosive. And Bumrah comes in for Siraj,” said Suryakumar.
The BCCI also issued an update on Abhishek after the toss, saying, “Abhishek Sharma is still recovering from his illness and was unavailable for selection. The BCCI medical team is closely monitoring his progress.”
Abhishek entered the match against the USA last week under the weather, and his situation worsened during the game. He was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Ali Khan; however, he did not take the field later. Samson replaced him as a substitute fielder, and Abhishek didn’t even come out for the customary post-match greetings.
Earlier, Bumrah had missed India’s T20 World Cup opener due to illness. However, he recovered in time for the second game and is raring to go for the rest of the tournament. Ishan Kishan, who was hit by a Bumrah delivery in the training session, is also fit and available for the clash against Gerhard Erasmus’ Namibia.
Namibia opt to bowl
Namibia captain Erasmus won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both Namibia and India made two changes to their playing XI from their previous matches.
At the toss, Suryakumar said, “We were looking to bat first. Very happy with it. As long as we are losing the toss and winning the game, it’s completely fine.”
“It’s a big tournament. The dew is going to be a big factor. But when you go out there and bat first, it gives you a lot of confidence. Looks like a very good wicket, hopefully batters go out there and enjoy themselves. The crowd has come in, give them entertainment,” he added.
India playing XI: Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Namibia playing XI: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus(captain), JJ Smit, Zane Green(wicketkeeper), Ruben Trumpelmann, Malan Kruger, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, Max Heingo.
