Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus revealed that his side did not get the opportunity to train under lights ahead of their T20 World Cup clash against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Without naming anyone directly, Erasmus hinted at a sense of imbalance, noting that India had the benefit of two night training sessions while his team had none. He also pointed out that Namibia come from a setup where access to floodlit facilities is already limited back home, making such preparation even more important for them in big tournaments.
Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus expressed anger over no night practice ahead of the India match. (PTI)
Namibia went down to the Netherlands in their opening match and head into the India clash as clear underdogs with only a faint chance on paper. The captain’s revelation that they did not receive a single night of training has only added to their challenges ahead of facing the defending champions.
Erasmus voiced his frustration over the lack of preparation time under lights ahead of the India clash, hinting at an uneven build-up compared to other teams. Speaking on the eve of the match, the Namibia skipper said his side would not dwell on the issue and would instead focus on competing with their usual fighting spirit despite the setback.
“Yeah, we haven’t been given a night training [session] before this game, I don’t know why. I think India has two night training [sessions] and I see outside that Canada will have a night training now, so make of that what you want, but we’ll just rock up and do our Namibian way, which is to fight,” Erasmus said on the eve of the game.
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“We haven’t got any floodlights in Namibia”: Erasmus
Erasmus also spoke about the broader challenges Namibia face when it comes to adapting to day-night fixtures, pointing out the limited exposure his players have to training under lights back home. He highlighted how infrastructure constraints make such conditions unfamiliar for many in the squad, adding that only those with experience in overseas leagues or major tournaments are somewhat accustomed to playing regularly under floodlights.
“We haven’t got any [flood]lights in Namibia… the day/night games,” Erasmus said. “Infrastructure wise it’s probably the challenge for us, so yeah it’s not a casual thing for guys that don’t have [experience]… I think barring the guys who played in the Nepal Premier League and the ILT20 and the World Cups that we’ve played, you don’t really get accustomed to lights and training under it very often.”