PAK vs NAM: Why did Shaheen Afridi & Abrar Ahmed miss T20 World Cup 2026 match 35?
The PAK vs NAM match will decide the final participant for the Super 8.
Pakistan are squaring off with Namibia in match 35 of the T20 World Cup 2026. The PAK vs NAM clash got underway on February 18 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Notably, Pakistan need to win the encounter at any cost to qualify for the Super 8 Round from Group A.
Salman Agha & Co. are playing their last match of the league stage against Namibia, who are already eliminated from the tournament. Pakistan currently sits in third place in Group A’s points table with 4 points, behind India and the USA.
Hence, they need a victory in their last game to secure a spot in the Super 8. Otherwise, the USA will be the second team after India to qualify for the next round from this pool. For the PAK vs NAM clash, Pakistan made two crucial changes to their playing XI.
Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed are not playing against Namibia
Pakistan had a good luck at the toss as they won and opted to bat first. At the toss, captain Salman Agha revealed that they have made two crucial changes in the playing XI.
Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed were rested for the game, while Salman Mirza and Khawaja Nafay were added to the side. Notably, Afridi and Ahmed have been rested for the encounter.
Speaking about the changes in the playing XI, Mirza revealed, “You pretty much have to win every single game and we are ready for the game. (On batting) Yeah, yeah, the batting has just been a concern for us. We need to bat well. We have batted well against USA. We need to do the similar kind of performance today as well. We’ve got two changes. Salman and Nafay are playing. Shaheen and Abrar are missing out”.
Backing his decision to bat first, he said, “We are going to bat first. We have played two games here. It is a good pitch. We just want to score above par and put them under pressure with the scoreboard pressure”.
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (W), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
Namibia Playing XI: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (C), Alexander Volschenk, JJ Smit, Zane Green (W), Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Jack Brassell.
Meanwhile, both Shaheen and Abrar have picked three wickets in three matches in T20 World Cup so far. While leg spinner Abrar owns an economy rate of 8.27, pacer Afridi has leaked runs at 11.22.
Who won the toss in the PAK vs NAM match?
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first.
Who were rested by Pakistan in the match against Namibia?
Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed were rested by Pakistan in the match against Namibia.
Who were added to Pakistan’s playing XI against Namibia?
Salman Mirza and Khawaja Nafay were added to Pakistan’s playing XI against Namibia.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.