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	-	-