Namibia's Green becomes first batter to be retired out in 2026 T20 WC
It was only the second time that a batter has retired out at a men's T20 World Cup, with Namibia instigating both moves
ESPNcricinfo staff
Feb 15, 2026, 1:23 PM • 2 hrs ago
Namibia hauled Zane Green off after 18 overs • ICC via Getty
Namibia became the first team to retire a batter out at the 2026 T20 World Cup, hauling wicketkeeper Zane Green off after 18 overs as they fell short in their attempt to chase 200 against USA in Chennai.
Green had just reverse-lapped Saurabh Netravalkar for four to reach 18 off 13 balls, but was retired out in order to bring Ruben Trumpelmann to the crease for the last two overs. By that stage, the chase was nearly over: Namibia needed 51 off the final 12 balls, and managed only 19. Trumpelmann faced two balls, and scored three runs.
"We needed 28 an over and Ruben Trumpelmann is our next guy in and he can access the boundaries easier so that was the thought process," Namibia coach Craig Williams said at his post-match press conference. "Look, both JJ [Smit] and Zane struggled to time the ball, which is a compliment to the USA bowlers. So it just came up [in the dugout] that Ruben has been... he does hit the ball in the back end for us and he's had some success over there. So it was just a tactical decision."
It was only the second time that a batter has retired out at a men's T20 World Cup, with Namibia instigating both moves. In 2024, opener Nikolaas Davin retired out for 18 off 16 balls in a rain-shortened match against England in Antigua to bring in David Wiese, as Namibia fell a long way short in their attempted chase of 126 in 10 overs.
Tactical retirements have become increasingly common in T20 cricket in recent years, as teams look to maximise the resources available to them. There were 30 retired-out dismissals across all T20 cricket in 2025 and have already been eight such dismissals in the first month-and-a-half of 2026, with the tactic becoming de-stigmatised.
However, it remains relatively unusual at the international level - particularly among the more established teams. Only two Full Member nations have retired batters out in T20Is: Zimbabwe and West Indies.
Namibia were defeated by 31 runs in Chennai and thereby eliminated from the T20 World Cup, though they have one group-stage fixture remaining against Pakistan in Colombo on Wednesday. The result of that match could yet decide which teams qualify from Group A.