Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus involved in heated exchange with umpire Rod Tucker, takes it out on India | Cricket
Gerhard Erasmus, the Namibia captain, had a day to remember with the ball against India in the T20 World Cup 2026 Group A fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday. The skipper stepped up when it mattered the most, returning with the figures of 4/20 to restrict India to 209/9 in the 20 overs. At one stage, it seemed that the defending champions would post a score in excess of 240-250, but Erasmus had other plans, stopping the run flow and taking wickets at regular junctures.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus had a day to remember with the ball (REUTERS)
The 30-year-old decided to come into the attack in the 8th over, when Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma were going strong. Ishan had already brought up his half-century, and the team 100 had also been registered, the fastest by any team in the history of the T20 World Cup. However, Erasmus provided the crucial wicket to Namibia as he dismissed Kishan on the first over of his spell, and the left-hander made his way back after scoring 61 runs off 24 balls.
However, the biggest flashpoint of the game came a few balls later in the same over. The Namibia captain was involved in an altercation with on-field umpire Rod Tucker. The incident happened when Erasmus was about to bowl the final delivery of the 8th over. The experienced campaigner was about to bowl the delivery while standing next to the umpire. But Tucker ruled it a dead ball. Erasmus was left surprised, and it was then that he was spotted having a heated exchange with the on-field official.
On several occasions in the past, Erasmus has done the same, and no umpire has ever objected to the same. Several other bowlers have also done it, bowling from almost 25 yards. The Namibia captain then went back to his mark and bowled the final delivery.
Erasmus leaves his mark
Erasmus then went on to take out his frustration on the remaining Indian batters, as he went on to take the wickets of Tilak, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube. He also bowled the penultimate over of the Indian innings, giving away just seven runs.
The final few overs of the innings saw India lose wickets in clusters, and the hosts were eventually restricted to 209/9 in 20 overs despite being 104/1 after seven overs. In the last five overs, India scored just 41 runs and lost six wickets.
Earlier, Namibia captain Erasmus won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both teams made two changes to their playing XI. India brought in Sanju Samson after Abhishek Sharma failed to recover in time from a stomach infection, and Jasprit Bumrah also returned in place of Mohammed Siraj.
For India, Ishan and Hardik (52) scored fifties, and their effort was instrumental in India going past the 200-run mark in Delhi.
