Netherlands balance youth and experience as they eye more World Cup upsets

vs Pakistan, February 7 in Colombo vs Namibia, February 10 in Delhi vs USA, February 13 in Chennai vs India, February 18 in Ahmedabad

Among the teams that are most likely to cause an upset at this T20 World Cup, Netherlands sit firmly at the top of the list. They have done it before, starting their first-ever T20 World Cup appearance by beating England in 2009, and more recently, outplaying South Africa and Bangladesh at the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Captain Scott Edwards, central to those two landmark wins, will once again lead the side. The squad balances several experienced campaigners and young talents, with Colin Ackermann, Timm van der Gugten and Logan van Beek returning after strong performances in various T20 leagues.

Their batting will be anchored by the young Michael Levitt and the explosive Max O'Dowd at the top, followed by the consistent Edwards, while their biggest strength lies in their seasoned allrounders Bas de Leede, Roelof van der Merwe and Ackermann. They also have a well-rounded bowling attack with pace options in Paul van Meekeren, van Beek and Fred Klaasen, and spin from Aryan Dutt and Saqib Zulfiqar.

They qualified comfortably through the Men's T20 World Cup Europe Region Final, where they topped the group and secured their spot with an all-round performance, led by O'Dowd and Edwards. Placed in Group A, they have challenging oppositions in India and Pakistan, but they will also come up against USA and Namibia, the two teams they have had an edge over in the format. They will be well aware of the conditions in the subcontinent having played the 2023 World Cup in India, and apart from that, they also toured Bangladesh in September 2025 and arrived early in India to train at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai.

In their seventh T20 World Cup appearance, making the Super Eights will be an ambitious target, but if their preparations click and they handle pressure moments well, another surprise is not out of reach.

After winning three out of their four matches in the Europe Region Final in 2025, Netherlands played three T20Is in Bangladesh, losing the series 2-0.

Max O'Dowd remains the cornerstone of Netherlands' batting order. At the top, he can get going from ball one but is also capable of batting deep while still maintaining the tempo. In June 2025, he made an unbeaten 158 to help Netherlands successfully chase 370 - the third-highest chase in ODIs - against Scotland, and was also Netherlands' top run-getter in the T20 World Cup Europe qualifier. While he is strong down the ground, he has also broadened his options with the sweep, which he developed with help from captain Edwards. His experience and shot selection could prove valuable on surfaces in India and Sri Lanka.

Allrounder Logan van Beek's return will be a big boost for Netherlands. After missing much of the 2025 international calendar due to county and franchise commitments, van Beek has regained momentum in the build-up to the tournament, featuring in New Zealand's Super Smash where he picked up nine wickets in 10 games for Wellington. He can swing a match with both ball and bat and can seize key moments, just like he showed during his record-equalling 30-run Super Over blitz to beat West Indies in the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, he finished as Netherlands' highest wicket-taker with seven wickets in four games.

Roelof van der Merwe, 41, is one of the most experienced players at this T20 World Cup, with 369 T20 appearances charting his long career. His left-arm spin and his utility with the bat have underpinned Netherlands through multiple global tournaments. Having played for Netherlands during their maiden T20 World Cup appearance in 2009, this will be his sixth T20 World Cup (five representing Netherlands and one in 2010 with South Africa). Much of this experience was on display in the Europe qualifiers where he took six wickets in four games. With the possibility of this being his final T20 World Cup, he will be keen to help push Netherlands one step further.

1 Michael Levitt, 2 Max O'Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Zach Lion-Cachet, 7 Logan van Beek, 8 Roelof van Der Merwe, 9 Kyle Klein, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Rest of the squad: Noah Croes, Saqib Zulfiqar, Fred Klaassen, Timm van der Gugten