ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY: CAN NEW ZEALAND LIGHT UP THE TOURNAMENT UNDER MITCHELL SANTNER?

New Zealand will be aiming to get things right and add a maiden piece of silverware to their ICC trophy cabinet in white-ball cricket. The 2021 ICC World Test Championship winners are heading into the tournament under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, who enjoyed a...

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New Zealand will be aiming to get things right and add a maiden piece of silverware to their ICC trophy cabinet in white-ball cricket. The 2021 ICC World Test Championship winners are heading into the tournament under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, who enjoyed a successful stint in the ODI & T20I series at home against Sri Lanka. New Zealand have enjoyed decent runs in World Cup events of late, reaching the ODI World Cup final in 2019 and the semis in 2023. In T20Is, they were the semi-finalists in 2022 and the finalists in 2021. So the Black Caps have the habit of coming out all guns blazing in major tournaments. Coming to the Champions Trophy, New Zealand is placed in a crunch Group A, comprising India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They would need to win at least two games to book a semi-final berth. New Zealand have a decent mix of players in their 15-member squad. New Zealand will promise to deliver a quality brand of cricket with the experience they possess.

The squad does feature some newcomers in terms of featuring in a maiden ICC event. The pace trio of Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, and Nathan Smith are all set to play their maiden senior ICC event. Ahead of a crunch ICC Champions Trophy, here we analyze New Zealand’s strengths, weaknesses, and team analysis.

NEW ZEALAND’S 15-MEMBER 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.