New Delhi: Netherlands have brought in pacers Fred Klaassen and Timm van der Gugten as skipper Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to bowl first against Namibia in a Group A clash of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Netherlands are aiming to get their first win of the competition after losing narrowly to Pakistan by three wickets in Colombo. After winning the toss, Edwards said left-arm pacer Klaassen and right-armer van der Gugten come in place of Paul van Meekeren and Kyle Klein respectively, thus adding more variety to the Dutch bowling line-up.
“Early morning, if there’s anything in the wicket, it’s probably going to be now. We feel like we played a lot of good cricket (against Pakistan), and we probably missed in certain parts of the game. So, for us, it’s another opportunity to execute when those moments come,” he said.
Namibia, meanwhile, are starting their campaign in the tournament and Tuesday’s game marks the first time of them playing an international game in India. Captain Gerhard Erasmus said all-rounder Willem Myburgh has been handed a debut.
“It was a bit of a 50-50 for us. We feel like we are a good side batting first. We probably would have bowled first with the conditions, as Scottie mentioned. Phenomenal (preparation), we had 7 days in Dubai and then we were out there in the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
“We played several games against the Afghans and Italy, and we’re feeling really proud to be here for our fourth consecutive World Cup. It’s always a special moment for someone making their debut because you’ve worked hard for many years. His life has literally changed over the last couple of months, so I’m really proud of him,” he said.
Playing XIs
Namibia: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz and Max Heingo
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (captain & wk), Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Roelof van der Merwe, Timm van der Gugten and Fred Klaassen
(IANS)
