T20 World Cup 2026 - Namibia Squad Preview, Fixtures and Starting XI

Making their fourth consecutive World Cup is team Namibia. They qualified for the 2026 World Cup by finishing as the table toppers in the ICC 2026 Africa qualifiers. Team Namibia begin their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Netherlands on the 10th of February, following games against India, the USA, and Pakistan in Group A. Who have been the stars for Namibia? Can they cause some major upsets? We look.

Namibia's Group fixtures vs Netherlands in Delhi, February 10 vs India in Delhi, February 12 vs USA in Chennai, February 15 vs Pakistan in Colombo, February 18

• Recent Success against South Africa: Namibia stunned South Africa as recently as October 2025 in Windhoek during a last-ball thriller, winning the match by four wickets.

• Proven "Giant-Killers": Namibia also famously beat Sri Lanka during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. They had a stellar 2025, winning nine out of 12 T20Is.

Players to Watch Out for

• The team is led by Gerhard Erasmus, their most prolific batter. The right-handed batter has scored 1833 T20I runs for Namibia at an impressive average of 32.15. Erasmus plays the role of a churner, while the other strikers bat around him. His strike-rate in the last 12 months - 123.21.

  
  

• JJ Smit has been in rollicking form since 2025. The 30-year-old has scored 250 runs at an average of 35.71 and a strike-rate of 168.91 in the mentioned phase. Smit has also been their leading wicket-taker - 20 wickets at 11.15 and a miserly economy-rate of 6.19.

• Ruben Trumpelmann who won the player of the match award in their win against the Proteas, JN Loftie-Eaton and Jan Frylinck can all pummel the kookaburra and chip in with nifty spells.

Most runs for Namibia in T20Is since 2025

Jan Frylinck - Runs: 320, Avg: 40, S/R:193.93

Gerhard Erasmus - Runs: 276, Avg: 30.66, S/R: 123.21

JJ Smit - Runs: 250, Avg: 35.71, S/R: 168.91

JN Loftie-Eaton - Runs: 242, Avg: 26.88, S/R: 155.12

Most wickets for Namibia in T20Is since 2025

JJ Smit - 20

Ruben Trumpelmann - 17

JN Loftie-Eaton - 11

Ben Shikongo - 9

Bernard Scholtz - 8

• Cricket Namibia have also been bolstered by the appointment of Gary Kirsten as a consultant.

Significant Challenges

Despite their potential, Namibia may face "rustiness" because they have not played competitive international cricket since October 2025. Additionally, five players in their squad are relatively inexperienced with fewer than ten international games. Their success will likely depend on how they handle slower, spin-friendly conditions in India and Sri Lanka.

Namibia aim to "play spoilers" and certainly add some "spice" to the tournament. But, can they really cause an upset?

Namibia Starting XI

Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Malan Kruger, Zane Green (wk), Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, Jack Brassell.