Big blow for New Zealand ahead of Champions Trophy Final; pacer Matt Henry unlikely to make the XI

New Zealand could be in for a massive setback heading into the finals of Champions Trophy 2025 as they could lose the services of the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, Matt Henry. Reportedly, the pacer could be out of action owing to a shoulder injury he picked up during the semi-final match against South Africa earlier this week.

Speaking to the media ahead on Friday, Kiwi head coach Gary Stead said, “I guess the positive thing from our perspective is he got back out there to bowl,”

“We’ve had some scans and stuff done on him, and we’re going to give him every chance to be playing in this match. It’s still a little bit unknown at this stage,” Stead added

New Zealand to take on India on Sunday:

To recap, New Zealand reached the final of the Champions Trophy 2025 by beating South Africa by 50 runs on Wednesday. Meanwhile, India qualified for the penultimate match by beating Australia in the semi-finals.

The two teams will meet at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday to decide the winner of the Champions Trophy 2025. The Kiwis also faced the same opposition in the league stage, where he took 5 wickets to damage the Indian batting line-up and restrict them to 249, but strong Indian bowling brought the game back to the Men in Blue.

With Henry possibly out of the playing XI for Sunday, skipper Mitch Santner and the team management will have to make some changes to give the Rohit Sharma-led side a tough fight.

Notably, India had also made it to the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 – the last time this tournament was held – where they lost to arch-rivals Pakistan. With the Kiwis having a history of challenging the Men in Blue in the recent past, India will also have to be at their best to win the crucial clash.