Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus has expressed dissatisfaction with his team not being given the opportunity to train at night ahead of their match against India in Delhi. The game is scheduled to take place on Thursday (February 12).

Namibia’s first game is against the Netherlands at 11am in Delhi earlier this week. On Wednesday (February 11), they choose to practice, but must do so from 2 to 5 p.m. Therefore, Namibian players will not undergo any training for games under lights ahead of the night match against India.

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Unlike Namibia, India’s first match is against the United States in the evening in Mumbai. They also held practices on February 10 and 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. Interestingly, Canada also held a training session at the same time as India on Wednesday. Canada will face the UAE on February 13 at 3 p.m.

Gerhard Erasmus was not happy:

Captain Gerhard Erasmus was not shy about expressing his displeasure as Namibian players were not given the opportunity to train under the lights. He pointed out that India trained at night for two consecutive days and mentioned that even Canada was training under lights. Meanwhile, Gerhard Erasmus vowed to fight on the pitch.

“Yeah, we didn’t have a night training (session) before this game, I don’t know why. I think India had two night training (sessions) and I see outside that Canada is going to have a night training (session) now, so do what you want but we will pick ourselves up and do our Namibian way, which is to fight,” Gerhard Erasmus said on the eve of the match.

The Namibian star further said, also highlighting the reasons behind the issue. He said players were not given the opportunity to train at night in their home countries due to lack of infrastructure.

“We don’t have any (floodlights) in Namibia…for day/night games,” Erasmus said. “Infrastructure-wise, it can be a challenge for us, so, yeah, it’s not a casual thing for people who don’t have (experience)… I think, except for people who have played in the Nepal Premier League, ILT20 and the World Cup that we’ve played in, you’re not really used to the lights and training under the lights.”

Eye discomfort in Namibia:

Although Namibia will start as determined underdogs against India, they will be hoping to pull off a famous win. Most Indian batsmen will take confidence from it against the United States and Namibia. They started their season with a loss to the Netherlands and are keen to open their account as soon as possible.

After playing against India, they will face the United States in Chennai on February 15 and Pakistan in Colombo on February 18.

India hopes to host a clinical show:

Even though India won the match against the United States, most of their batsmen failed to impress and they were left scared. In the end, Suryakumar Yadav’s half-century and a brilliant effort from the bowlers took India home. The hosts will be looking to put up a better performance against Namibia before taking on Pakistan on Sunday.