Champions Trophy 2025:New Zealand's Strength, Weaknesses, Schedule, Squad, Playing XI and More

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is just around the corner. As the much-awaited tournament returns after eight years. New Zealand faces a combination of challenges and weaknesses. This article will give a complete overview of New Zealand squad and its schedule, along with a detailed Strength and Weakness Analysis.
Previous performance

| Year | Result | Key Performance |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Quarter-Finals | Lost to Sri Lanka after defeating Zimbabwe |
| 2000 | Champions | Defeated India in final, Chris Cairns scored match-winning century |
| 2002 | Semi-Finals | Lost to India |
| 2004 | Group Stage | Set record total of 347/4 vs USA |
| 2006 | Semi-Finals | Eliminated by Australia |
| 2009 | Runners-up | Lost to Australia in the final |
| 2013 | Group Stage | Failed to progress beyond initial round |
| 2017 | Group Stage | Early exit from tournament |
Strengths
Bowling lineup

New Zealand has one of the most formidable bowling attacks among the Champions Trophy teams. The team has pacers like Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, along with newcomers like Will o'Rourke, Nathan Smith, and Ben Sears. The spin department has Mitchell Santhner as main spinner, along with spin all-rounders like Rachin Ravindra and others.
Batting line up

New Zealand has one of the most robust batting lineups in the tournament. Its top and middle orders are strong, including all-rounders who can help with the bowl too.
Leadership
For the new captain's Mitchell Santhner help New Zealand has experienced leaders like Kane Williamson and Tom Latham. Kane Williamson led the team to the World Test Championship victory and also led the team to the 2019 World Cup final. New White ball captain Mitchell Santhner is going to have a strong leadership group inside the team for the upcoming tournament.
Weaknesses
Young Lower middle-order
It's still not known how the lower middle order will perform under the pressure of an ICC tournament, as the team has a new lower middle order with Glenn Philips, Chapman and Jimmy Neesham it will be seen whenever they is a early collapse how the lower middle handle the situation.
Death over concerns
New Zealand faces a big challenge with who will be the lead bowler for the death overs, with most of the bowlers being good with the new ball,it creates challenge for the team that there is no Bowler with experience of bowling under pressure in such a big tournament.
Young & New Players: An opportunity
New Zealand, with its youngest team in the ICC tournament in recent years, has a great opportunity and a challenge to do well as a relatively new team after the retirement of experienced players.
New Zealand Best Playing XI For Champions Trophy
| Position | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devon Conway | Opener |
| 2 | Will Young | Opener |
| 3 | Kane Williamson | Top Order |
| 4 | Daryl Mitchell | Middle Order |
| 5 | Tom Latham (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batsman |
| 6 | Glenn Phillips | All-rounder |
| 7 | Mitchell Santner (c) | All-rounder |
| 8 | Michael Bracewell | All-rounder |
| 9 | Matt Henry | Fast Bowler |
| 10 | Lockie Ferguson | Fast Bowler |
| 11 | Ben Sears | Fast Bowler |
New Zealand Matches in Champions Trophy
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | Pakistan vs New Zealand | Karachi | 2:30 PM |
| February 24 | Bangladesh vs New Zealand | Rawalpindi | 2:30 PM |
| March 2 | India vs New Zealand | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| March 4* | Semi-final 1 | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| March 5* | Semi-final 2 | Lahore | 2:30 PM |
| March 9* | Final | Lahore/Dubai | 2:30 PM |
New Zealand Squad
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| Captain | Mitchell Santner |
| Batsmen | Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Will Young, Mark Chapman |
| Wicketkeeper | Tom Latham |
| All-rounders | Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips |
| Fast Bowlers | Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Will O'Rourke, Nathan Smith |
Champions Trophy 2025 Full Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | Pakistan vs New Zealand | Karachi | 2:30 PM |
| February 20 | India vs Bangladesh | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| February 21 | Afghanistan vs South Africa | Karachi | 2:30 PM |
| February 22 | Australia vs England | Lahore | 2:30 PM |
| February 23 | India vs Pakistan | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| February 24 | Bangladesh vs New Zealand | Rawalpindi | 2:30 PM |
| February 25 | Australia vs South Africa | Rawalpindi | 2:30 PM |
| February 26 | Afghanistan vs England | Lahore | 2:30 PM |
| February 27 | Pakistan vs Bangladesh | Rawalpindi | 2:30 PM |
| February 28 | Afghanistan vs Australia | Lahore | 2:30 PM |
| March 1 | South Africa vs England | Karachi | 2:30 PM |
| March 2 | New Zealand vs India | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| March 4 | Semi-final 1 | Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| March 5 | Semi-final 2 | Lahore | 2:30 PM |
| March 9 | Final* | Lahore/Dubai | 2:30 PM |
| March 10 | Reserve Day | - | - |
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