Matt Henry Injury Update: Likely to Miss Champions Trophy Final Against India in Champions Trophy 2025

Due to a shoulder injury, New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry might not play in the Champions Trophy 2025 final against Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team. Henry fell awkwardly on his shoulder during the second semi-final match against Temba Bavuma’s South Africa on March 5 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The 33-year-old Henry finished with figures of 7-0-43-2 after taking the wickets of Ryan Rickelton and Kagiso Rabada. Henry was said to be ‘uncomfortable’ and sent for scans, as shared by New Zealand head coach Gary Stead.

“Matt obviously landed on his shoulder and it was pretty uncomfortable. I guess the positive thing from our perspective is that he got back out there to bowl. We've had some scans done on him, We're going to give him every chance to be playing in this match, so still a little bit unknown at this stage. He's obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder, but yeah, hopefully he will be okay," Stead stated.

With 10 wickets from four matches at an economy rate of 5.32, Henry stands as the tournament’s top wicket-taker. Even though New Zealand suffered a 44-run defeat, he was remarkable in the Group A encounter against India in Dubai, securing five wickets for 42 runs. The Kiwis may have to pick between Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy for the final if Henry isn’t fit to play on Sunday.

After overcoming Pakistan, led by Mohammad Rizwan, in the tournament’s first match, New Zealand got their campaign underway. They later defeated Bangladesh by five wickets to confirm a place in the semifinals. Though they lost to India in their last group match, they rebounded by overpowering South Africa by 50 runs in the semi-final.

The Indian team will now play against New Zealand in the Final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams have met twice before in an ICC tournament final, and New Zealand won both times. In their last meeting, which was also the final group match of the big tournament, India performed better and secured a huge win. Later, India defeated Australia in the semi-final, while New Zealand won against South Africa.