Meet Namibia U-19’s New Captain: Faf du Plessis Takes the Lead!

The Namibia U-19 cricket team has chosen a new captain for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers: Faf du Plessis. This decision surprised many cricket fans because there is also a famous South African cricketer named Faf du Plessis. The young captain, who is just 17 years old, is a right-handed batter and a good leg-spinner. He has played for Namibia U-19 three times before and will now lead the team in the Division 1 Qualifiers.

Social media buzzed with confusion when fans mistook the young cricketer for the well-known South African player, who will be participating in IPL 2025.

In the Division 1 Qualifiers, Namibia U-19 will compete against teams from Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. Their first match is against Nigeria on March 28, and it will take place in Lagos, Nigeria.

After the game against Nigeria, Namibia will play Sierra Leone at the University of Lagos Cricket Oval. The winner of this Qualifiers tournament will represent Africa in the 2026 U-19 World Cup, which will be hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia. Zimbabwe is already qualified as the host country, while Namibia must go through this qualification tournament.

This will be the 16th U-19 World Cup, where Australia is the defending champion. A total of 16 teams will be divided into four groups. The top three teams from each group will move on to the Super Six stage. The fourth-placed teams will play against one another for placement.

In the Super Six stage, top teams from Groups A and D will team up with top teams from Groups B and C. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for the semi-finals.

Besides Zimbabwe, defending champions Australia are already qualified, as well as other direct qualifiers including Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and West Indies. The last few spots will be filled by winners from regional qualification tournaments.