After Namibia’s victory against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup opener, Aakash Chopra defines Namibia’s “greatest barrier” as “So does Afghanistan.”

In the first match of the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the GMHBA Stadium in South Geelong, underdog Namibia defeated Sri Lanka decisively. The Gerhard Erasmus-led team crushed the 2022 Asia Cup winners by 55 runs, shocking cricket fans across the globe. After the game, previous cricket players and spectators praised Namibia, which is also an ICC associate country. Aakash Chopra, a former Indian batter who joined the chorus, had a different take on the matter. Although Namibia won a significant victory, the analyst said that since associate countries don’t get enough attention, their achievement may be meaningless.

He posted on Twitter, saying: “Please make a “note to self” that you will support affiliate countries once the World Cup is done while you celebrate and cheer Namibia’s triumph. The largest obstacle to their development is a lack of exposure, which won’t happen until they get more opportunities to play 1n. If the BIG teams would simply be inclusive, they would be able to compete against top Test teams. It’s okay for supporters, etc., to celebrate their triumphs (upsets have their kind of romance), but it’s not up to them to develop. Namibia performed well in the most recent T20 World Cup “.

The World Cup is when Afghanistan usually grabs everyone’s attention, but they seldom ever play against top teams after or before such competitions, Chopra said. He said, “Every time they play, Afghanistan does as well. But do you inquire how many T20 matches they played since the previous World Cup against BIG teams? For the time being, ignore Associate Nations… Even Test teams like Bangladesh and AFG have never participated in a T20i in Australia. They are here to compete, right?”.

He said, “More games are welcome. additional Tri-Nation series to be played. Engage them. You should start keeping in mind that these teams exist outside of the World Cups too if you want the game to develop (and that’s essential for your development-sustainability as well). Ends.”

Namibia knocked Sri Lanka out for 108 in 19 overs when Sri Lanka was defending a score of 164 runs. The Namibian bowlers were in excellent form, with two wickets apiece taken by David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, and Jan Frylinck. JJ Smit received a dismissal in the meanwhile.

Smit initially assisted Namibia in scoring 163 for seven in 20 overs with an undefeated inning of 31 runs off 16 balls. Frylinck also contributed significantly, scoring 44 runs off of 28 balls. For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan claimed two wickets.