India opener Abhishek Sharma missed the T20 World Cup 2026 fixture against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi due to a stomach infection. The youngster had to undergo medical tests at a hospital and although he was discharged shortly after, he was not fully fit in time for the game. With Abhishek unavailable, Sanju Samson was promoted to open the innings and made an immediate impact, scoring 22 off just eight deliveries. However, he once again failed to capitalise on the start.
After the match, spinner Varun Chakravarthy offered a positive update, saying Abhishek could return to the XI for the high-voltage clash against Pakistan. He added that the southpaw had taken part in a practice session prior to the Namibia game.
โI think he will play the next match, I donโt know. As far as I have spoken to him, he looks good and did some practice today also. He told that heโs on the way,โ Varun said in the post-match interaction with the media.
India beat Namibia by 93 runs
India registered a comfortable 93-run win in their second game of the tournament to move closer to the Super 8 race. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya starred with the bat, scoring a half-century each as India posted 209 runs on the board in the first innings. However, the team management may not be entirely happy with the performance, as several of the batters struggled to keep up with the momentum. The likes of SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh struggled heavily with the bat and thatโs a concern ahead of the Pakistan game.
When it comes to bowling, Chakravarthy stole the show with his three wickets in two overs and conceded just seven runs. Axar Patel and Pandya picked up two wickets each.
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