Namibia have SECRET WEAPON from Dhoni’s 2011 World Cup-winning team, they are hoping…

Namibia are set to open their Group A campaign against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2026 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

Gary Kirsten was Team India head coach when they won 2011 ODI World Cup. (Source: X)

India.com at T20 World Cup 2026: The third match of Group A in T20 World Cup 2026 will feature and interesting clash between two Associate nations – Namibia facing off against the Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Netherlands gave Pakistan a run for their money in the opening game of the World Cup, pushing Salman Ali Agha’s side to the brink at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on Saturday.

Their opponents Namibia are getting ready to play their first game of the tournament against the Dutch before a much bigger challenge awaits them in the form of co-hosts and defending champions Team India on Thursday at the same venue. But Gerhard Erasmus-led side will be banking on a ‘secret weapon’ in the form of former India head coach Gary Kirsten.

The former South Africa opener, better known as ‘Guru Gary’ to Indian cricket fans, was of course the head coach when India won the 2011 ODI World Cup title under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Kirsten is part of the Namibian team’s support staff for the T20 World Cup 2026 in the role of the consultant.

“Yes, he obviously has lots of experience not only in the IPL but as you say with the 2011-winning squad. So definitely, he brings a winning edge to it. He also brings lots of knowledge of the different grounds,” Namibia captain Erasmus told the media at the pre-match press conference at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.

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“But I think looking past that, I think it’s very nice in terms of management that you have so many mentor type coaches who really like to bring the human side first and they really like to connect with the players. I think that’s what we respect most about Gary and all the other coaches on our staff. But cricket is very much conditions-based and it’s awesome to have him around.

“He knows all the grounds around here and also opposition players he knows because he has been with so many different players. And as you say, immense experience,” Erasmus added.

After his stint with Team India got over, Kirsten was associated with numerous IPL teams including most-recently with Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans from 2022 to 2024 as the batting coach and mentor of the former title-winning side. He also served as Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) head coach for a couple of years and was also associated with Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a couple of years.

Namibia focused on Dutch challenge first

Erasmus said that his team is not looking too far ahead in the tournament at the moment. Namibia had defeated Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2022 and more recently defeated South Africa in a one-off T20 match. However, facing off against Suryakumar Yadav’s Team India on Thursday will be a whole new challenge.

“All our energy is on the Netherlands game now. It’s such a different game that we’re going to face as opposed to the India game. Yeah, we haven’t even thought about the 12th (match day vs India),” Erasmus said.

“We’re only thinking about the next 24 hours and obviously our attention is on ourselves first. It’s about playing our best cricket, putting our best processes in place, accessing our best skills, our strengths. And yes, if you can match up a little bit with the opposition and bowl the right bowlers to their batters and sort of have the right batsmen in at the right time to take down their bowlers, then I guess it’s a good thing to look at the opposition.

“Obviously teams do so much analysis these days that the tactical side of the game is there’s so much work being put in that sort of everyone has the information, everyone has the knowledge and the information out there to prepare. And because everyone’s a little bit more on an even keel with that, I think it’s more about delivering your processes on the day than trying to outsmart the opposition too much with nosy tactics or anything,” the Namibia skipper added.

For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/

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