Why is Matt Henry not playing Champions Trophy 2025 Final between India vs New Zealand?

India (IND) and New Zealand (NZ) locked horns in the Final of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the iconic Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. 

India have been the only unbeaten team in the tournament and have dominated with their spinners, who have collectively taken 21 wickets, more than the past three World Cup winners combined. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s spinners have also impressed, picking up 17 wickets.

The Kiwis have beaten India in crucial ICC knockouts before, but Rohit Sharma’s men will look to end their wait for a Champions Trophy title. Interestingly, the last time these two teams faced each other in a Champions Trophy was back in 2000, which the Kiwis won by four wickets in Nairobi.

Toss Update

New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. The Kiwis made a forced change in the form of pacer Matt Henry, with Nathan Smith replacing him. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue went in with an unchanged XI. 

Nathan Smith replaces injured Matt Henry

Ace pacer Matt Henry was ruled out, citing an injury on his right shoulder, which he suffered after he landed awkwardly on it during the semi-final game against South Africa. Nathan Smith will be playing his second game of the competition. 

What did the captains say at the toss?

Mitchell Santner (New Zealand): 

We're going to have a bat first. Looks like a pretty good wicket, similar to the one we played India here a week ago. Want to get runs on the board and see what happens. Obviously expected a few blue shirts, great atmosphere, great ground. Going to be slightly different from what we got in Pakistan. We saw how India played and what they got out of it. Hope it slows down a bit later. Different guys have stepped up at different times. You want guys firing from the start and we have done that, as have India. Unfortunately Matt Henry has been ruled out, we've got Nathan Smith coming in.

Rohit Sharma (India): 

We've been here enough, batted first and bowled first, don't really mind batting second. It hasn't changed much, we've chased and won as well. It does give you a lot of confidence, takes the toss away from the game. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you want to play. That's what we've spoken about in the dressing room, not to worry about the toss and to just play well, that's what we've done and we have to do today as well. New Zealand have been a very good team over the past so many years, they tend to play good cricket in ICC tournaments. The challenge for us is to play well against them now. Same team for us.

IND vs NZ Playing XIs: 

India: 

New Zealand: