Suryakumar gave a major update on opener Abhishek’s fitness after losing the toss against Namibia in Delhi on Thursday (February 12). “Abhishek is not right yet,” he said.

Abhishek Sharma did not play in the match against Namibia due to illness. Another player was given a chance in the team instead of him. His absence could be a big blow for India ahead of the crucial match against Pakistan. Currently there is uncertainty over his playing in the Pakistan match and the final decision will be taken based on the improvement of his physical condition. Instead of debuting, Sanju Samson is playing for India in the second match of Group ‘A’ against Namibia.

BCCI has given an update on Abhishek’s fitness. “Abhishek Sharma is yet to fully recover from his illness. BCCI’s medical team is monitoring his physical condition,” the statement said.

Along with Samson, Jasprit Bumrah has also returned to India’s playing XI. Bumrah missed India’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener against USA in Mumbai on February 7 due to fever.

Bumrah is playing in place of Mohammad Siraj. Siraj, who replaced Harshit Rana in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad on 6 February, played against the Monank Patel-led side at the Wankhede Stadium and was instrumental in India’s 29-run win with 3 wickets for 29 runs in four overs.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus won the toss and sent India in to bat first on Thursday. India batted in their first Group ‘A’ match as well, but apart from Suryakumar, the Indian batsmen did not perform as expected with the bat.