Pakistan bat first, drop Shaheen Afridi in must-win encounter against Namibia
If Pakistan lose today's contest, USA leapfrog them to qualify for the Super Eight stage in their place
ESPNcricinfo staff
Feb 18, 2026, 9:41 AM • 8 hrs ago
Babar Azam gets one more chance but Shaheen Afridi is dropped from the eleven • Getty Images
Toss Pakistan chose to bat vs Namibia
Pakistan captain, Salman Agha, put his side in to bat first with a Super Eight spot on the line. They face a must-win situation: unless they win their final match in Group A, against Namibia - or the match is abandoned because of weather - they will be knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage for the second time running.
Still, Agha denied he was under pressure, saying Pakistan had been in this situation "previously as well". They made two changes to the side, with Salman Mirza and Khawaja Nafay playing, and Shaheen Afridi and Abrar sitting out.
Namibia made two changes, too, with 20-year old Jack Brassell coming into the side for 17-year old Max Heingo. They are mathematically out of the running for the Super Eight already. However, in case they pull off an upset today, they will assist an unlikely qualification for the United States of America. USA sit second on the table right now having finished all their matches. In case Pakistan cannot secure two points today, USA will go through to the next round instead of Pakistan.
Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan (wk), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Salman Agha (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Usman Khan (wk), 6 Khawaja Nafay, 7 Shadab Khan , 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Salman Mirza, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Usman Tariq
Namibia: 1 Jan Frylinck, 2 Louren Steenkamp, 3 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 Alexander Busing-Volschenk, 6 JJ Smit, 7 Zane Green (wk), 8 Ruben Trumpelmann, 9 Willem Myburgh, 10 Bernard Scholtz, 11 Jack Brassell