As Namibia prepare to face India in a high-pressure T20 World Cup clash under lights, their captain Gerhard Erasmus has raised concerns about something off the field — training conditions.
Namibia’s match against India is scheduled to be played at night. However, Gerhard Erasmus revealed on Wednesday that his team was not given any night training sessions before the game. Instead, Namibia played a daytime match against the Netherlands on Monday and continued training during the day. Meanwhile, India trained twice at night and Canada also had a night session, something Gerhard Erasmus noticed.
Speaking about the situation, Gerhard Erasmus said that his team simply was not given the same opportunity to train under lights. He pointed out that others had night practice sessions and left it to observers to draw their own conclusions. Despite that, he made it clear that Namibia would show up ready to compete and fight in their own way.
The issue is bigger for Namibia because they do not have proper floodlight facilities back home. Day-night games are rare for them, which makes adjusting to playing under lights more challenging. Gerhard Erasmus admitted that apart from a few players who have featured in leagues like the Nepal Premier League, the ILT20 and previous World Cups, most of the squad is not used to regular night training.
Namibia have already lost their opening match to the Netherlands. After facing India, they will take on the USA and Pakistan, with both remaining league matches scheduled for 3pm starts.
For Gerhard Erasmus and his team, the challenge now is simple, adapt quickly and compete hard, no matter the conditions.
