New Zealand has announced their 15 members squad for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. The team will be led for the very first time at global level by all-rounder Mitchell Santner.
They are currently in Group A alongwith India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The two new pacers – Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke marked their name for the upcoming ICC event. Sears hasn’t played any ODI matches till now and it will be his first ICC event. Earlier he was named in the travelling reserved players list for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Whereas O’Rourke has got the prize for his 2024 performance where he bowled decently against England.
Both the pacers will give full assistance to the experienced Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry. Ferguson is currently playing the ILT20 matches in Dubai, due to which he will miss the starting match of the team in the tri-series before the Champions Trophy. The other two teams that took part were Pakistan and South Africa.
Not only Ferguson, but also Kane Williamson and Devon Conway might make a turnaround who are currently playing the SA20. The experience of Williamson in the bigger formats will definitely help the team.
Currently the star all-rounder of the team, Rachin Ravindra has got his name into the list who is known for his brilliant batting and will be a great option in the spin department who will help alongside Micheal Bracewell.
The head of the team, Gary Stead said, “We’re currently blessed with a lot of quality players and that certainly made for some challenging selection discussions. Ultimately, we’ve gone with the squad that will offer us the best options to perform well in the expected conditions in Pakistan and the UAE. We’re lucky to have a large chunk of the group with significant international and tournament experience to draw upon.
The tournament format is a unique one in that you have to hit the ground running which means our preparation in the pre-leading Tri Series is really important. It’s going to be a great occasion opening the tournament against hosts Pakistan in Karachi and we can’t wait to get over there and get stuck in.”
New Zealand squad:
Mitchell Santner ©, Micheal Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Will O’Rourke, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Ben Sears, Will Young.
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