ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Kane Williamson Returns As New Zealand Name Provisional Squad

Former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is part of the 15-member squad that has been named for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He last played an ODI match for his side on November 15, 2023, against India in Mumbai.

The Kiwis have picked a good mix of young and experienced players giving them a perfect combination for the tournament. Mitchell Santner will lead the side in the multi-nation tournament. However, he has plenty of experienced players to fall back upon namely, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Latham and Matt Henry. The Kiwis will dearly miss the services of Tim Southee who announced his international retirement in December 2024.

New Zealand have managed to assemble a good mix of spinners led by Santner. Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and Michael Bracewell are the other options. Ish Sodhi has been ignored from selection.

Head coach Gary Stead spoke after the team was picked for the tournament. He said that he had to face some challenging discussions while picking the players.

"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" head coach Gary Stead said.

New Zealand To Play Tri-Series Before Champions Trophy 2025

The Kiwis will play a tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa leading upto the Champions Trophy starting from February 19. The New Zealand head coach said that the tri-series will be important leading into the tournament.

"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 in Pakistan in Karachi and we can't wait to get over there and get stuck in" Stead added.

New Zealand are placed alongside India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in Group A. The Kiwis play the campaign opener against Pakistan on February 19 followed by matches against Bangladesh (February 24, Rawalpindi) and India (March 2, Dubai)

Squad: Mitchell Santner (capt), 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