Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan’s brilliant batting show against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2026 match left the former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan unimpressed on Wednesday, February 18.
Sahibzada Farhan’s century lights up Colombo
Sahibzada Farhan reached a superb 100 in the final over and entered the record books as only the second Pakistani after Ahmed Shehzad to score a hundred in T20 World Cup history. However, the way he got there became the main talking point among the cricket pundits.
Pakistan was already cruising at 183/3 after 19 overs. Farhan was batting on 99, while Shadab Khan was well set at the other end. Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus came in to bowl the last over. Instead of attacking straight away, Shadab calmly took a single on the first ball.
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On the next delivery, Farhan also played a safe shot to long-on and ran one to complete his century. Many expected big hitting from ball one, as it was the final over of a T20 match.
Irfan Pathan calls Sahibzada selfish
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who was watching closely, was surprised by the approach. He felt that in the last over, Farhan should have attacked and scored as much as he could rather than prioritizing his century against Namibia in Colombo.
Pathan said on air, “He definitely has scored a century, but taking a single? Unbelievable. Unbelievable! This is what you have to do. You have to attack the off-spinner. It wasn’t there on the first three [two] balls from Farhan or Shadab. You would be happy that you have scored a century and that Pakistan has reached 199. But in the last over, you play a defensive shot, and then you leave the last ball. Kamaal hai.”
— Drizzyat12Kennyat8 (@45kennyat7PM) February 18, 2026
After Farhan was completed, Shadab finally went for big shots and smashed two huge sixes, helping Pakistan collect 16 runs from the over and finish at 199/3 against Namibia.
Sahibzada Farhan joins Ahmed Shehzad in Elite List
Opener Sahibzada Farhan smashed a brilliant century against Namibia and made his place in history. Notably, Farhan reached the 100-run mark in just 57 balls. He stayed unbeaten on 100 from 58 balls. His innings included 11 classy fours and 4 big sixes.
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With this knock, Farhan became only the second Pakistani to score a hundred in a men’s T20 World Cup. The first was Ahmed Shehzad, who had made 111 against Bangladesh in Mirpur back in 2014.
Earlier, Pakistan made some changes for their important T20 World Cup 2026 match against Namibia. They included Khawaja Nafay in the playing XI and dropped Shaheen Afridi from the team after losing badly to India in their last Group A match in Colombo on February 15.
If they win this game, Pakistan’s chances for the Super 8 qualification will boost massively at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Group A, India, booked their spot with three straight wins.
