Pakistan face must-win test against Namibia to keep Super 8 hopes alive

Pakistan must beat Namibia in their final league fixture to stay alive in the tournament and progress to the Super 8s.

It has been a chastening few days for Salman Agha's side. After all the talk of this being a far stronger unit than the one that lost three times to India in the Asia Cup, the 61-run defeat on Sunday felt familiar. Agreed, their meetings with India in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups were close contests but Pakistan were unable to cross the finish line. And since the Asia Cup, the trend has only solidified, with India recording four comfortable wins in succession.

Criticism has followed swiftly. Senior pros Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi were well below their best in the last outing and there are legitimate questions around their place in the side. Shaheen was expensive and unable to exert control either in the PowerPlay or at the death, conceding 1 for 31 in his two overs. Babar, meanwhile, again appeared vulnerable against spin, an area that has troubled him since his return to the T20I side after being left out of the Asia Cup.

Namibia are already out of contention but this is an opportunity to bow out on a high against a Pakistan side low on confidence. They have enough issues of their own though. Ruben Trumpelmann's dip in form has hurt, with Namibia being the least effective PowerPlay bowling side of the tournament. With the bat, captain Gerhard Erasmus's modest returns have mirrored the team's struggles in three straight defeats.

When: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 3 PM local
Where: Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo
What to expect: It's the same pitch on which Ireland made 235/5 against Oman and it's set to be batting-friendly again. The playing area here is smaller than at R. Premadasa and the pitch is not at the centre of the square, so expect a lot of runs through the shorter side of the ground. It's been overcast in Colombo and some rain showers are expected in the lead-up to the match.

Will Pakistan continue to stick with Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam? If the team management decides otherwise, Salman Mirza and Fakhar Zaman are more than ready to step in.

Probable XIs:

• Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam/Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi/Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
• Namibia: Jan Frylinck, Louren Steenkamp, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus(c), JJ Smit, Zane Green(w), Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumplemann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo

Team News:
Ben Shikongo sustained a thigh injury during Namibia's game against India and has been replaced by Alex Volschenk.

Key Stats:

• Since returning to Pakistan's T20I side after the Asia Cup exclusion, Babar Azam's strike-rate against spin is 101.70.
• Namibia's strike bowler Trumplemann has managed just one wicket in three matches so far.
• Pakistan have bowled 13, 16, and 18 overs of spin in their three matches so far.

Quotes:

• "Both Babar and Shaheen have won many matches for Pakistan. We shouldn't write them off just because they did not perform well in one game [vs India]." – Usman Tariq, Pakistan bowler
• "We have put ourselves in really good positions but our batting unit hasn't been able to close those death overs… Look, Pakistan is a good team guys, let's be honest. Probably just going through a little bit of bad form… And we must not forget that they were playing against the No.1 team, that is India." – Craig Williams, Namibia coach