New Zealand's 2025 Champions Trophy squad: Strengths and weaknesses
What's the story
New Zealand have announced their squad for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy, led by Mitchell Santner. This will be his first time captaining the team in a global event.
The squad features experienced players like Kane Williamson and Tom Latham, who are expected to offer valuable guidance during this transitional phase.
However, the retirement of veteran pace duo Tim Southee and Trent Boult could affect New Zealand's new-ball wicket-taking ability.
Here we analyse the squad.
Rising stars
Young pacers to watch out for
The squad also includes young fast bowlers Ben Sears and Will O'Rourke, who are known for their speed and bounce.
Head Coach Gary Stead had praised Sears saying, "He's one of those guys who, when you look at places like Pakistan, pure speed is what you're looking for , and he certainly has that."
Nathan Smith is another promising addition with his seam-bowling and lower-order batting.
Pace concerns
New Zealand's pace attack faces challenges
Despite Jacob Duffy's impressive international white-ball record, he wasn't included in the main squad.
The onus of leading the pace attack now lies on Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson.
However, concerns have been raised over Henry's injury history and potential reliance on an inexperienced pace unit if he were to be sidelined.
New Zealand may also face challenges due to lack of elite death bowling.
Team strategy
Spin attack and batting blueprint
In the spin department, captain Mitchell Santner will lead with his subtle variations and control.
He will be joined by Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, and Rachin Ravindra.
The team's batting unit will revolve around Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, and Devon Conway with Tom Latham handling wicketkeeping duties.
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NZ's knack of shining in ICC events
The Kiwis don't usually enter an ICC events as favorites. However, they have a knack of doing well at the big stage. Though they could not clear the group stage in the last year's T20 World Cup, New Zealand reached the semi-finals in each of the preceding four white-ball ICC tournaments.
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New Zealand's squad for Champions Trophy
New Zealand's Champions Trophy squad: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young.