T20 World Cup 2026: Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus laments lack of training under lights before India game

Namibia are set to take on India in a Group A match of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Delhi on Thursday.

It will be a night match with the contest beginning at 7 PM IST. However, despite their match set to be played under lights, the visitors were not able to train in the night at the nets.

The Namibia cricket team players were asked to train in the afternoon. Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus was appalled at the way the organisers failed to schedule a practice session for his team at night.

He even noted that Canada got an opportunity to train under lights, along with India. To add context, Canada will take on the UAE in Delhi, but that match will be played only on Friday. This is also a disadvantage for Namibia because of their inability to play under lights back home.

"Infrastructure-wise, it's probably the challenge for us. So yeah, it's not a casual thing. Barring the guys who have played in the Nepal Premier League, ILT20 and the World Cups we have played, you don't get accustomed to lights and train under it very often," he observed.

Erasmus, however, sounded unperturbed and vowed that he and his team would give it everything against India. Namibia are coming on the back of a seven-wicket loss to the Netherlands in their opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

"Yeah, we haven't been given night training before this game. I don't know why. I think India have two night trainings and I see outside that Canada are going to 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," he added.

"I mean we played against India and that was also quite tough for us, so we always prepare as best as we can, get the guys in a good mental space …So preparing for India under lights will obviously tick our boxes and try to put the guys in the best position that they can to be able to have a successful," he had stated. The Namibia team, however, never got to train under lights and were slotted in the 2 PM-5 PM time slot for a practice session, as per an ICC email.

A loss for Namibia against India on Thursday will make it difficult for the Gerhard Erasmus-led side to keep their Super 8 hopes alive. Namibia are currently fourth in Group A, just ahead of the fifth-placed USA, who are also yet to win a match.