India survived a scare but will aim to return to their dominant best when they face off against Namibia on Thursday. The Men in Blue got their title defence off to a winning start sealing a win over USA at the Wankhede. That win wasn’t without hiccups and Suryakumar Yadav and Co will aim to iron out those faults before the IND vs PAK clash over the weekend. India’s preparations for the Namibia clash have been hit with the news of Abhishek Sharma’s illness. The left-hander was hospitalised and later discharged after suffering a stomach infection. Should he remain unavailable, Sanju Samson will come into the playing XI.
Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah are both fit and available, with the latter likely to replace Siraj in the line up. Ishan Kishan was struck by a toe crusher in the nets but is believed to be fit for the Namibia game. Namibia face a herculean task against the World No.1 outfit. For Namibia to stop a batting line-up like India will be an arduous task. Even more challenging for their batters will be to face Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya in tandem.
Out of the top six, only all-rounder JJ Smit has a strike rate of 140 plus while none of the others in the top-five cross the par strike rate figure acceptable in today’s day and age.
IND Vs NAM Live StreamingStar Sports Network are the official broadcasters of all ICC events in India. The U19 World Cup 2026 will also as a result be telecast live on the Star Sports Network. Live streaming for the same can also be found on the JioHotstar app and website. The IND vs NAM match kick starts at 7:00 PM IST. Toss is set to be at 6:30 PM IST.