The batting all-rounder Daryl Mitchell has replaced opener Devon Conway in the playing XI.
On March 2, opener Devon Conway was dropped from New Zealand’s playing XI against India in Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025 encounter. The batting all-rounder Daryl Mitchell has replaced Conway in the team.
Conway is a good player of the spin. He could have been instrumental against India who are going with four spinners in this fixture. Furthermore, the pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is drier. A player skilled at playing against spin bowling would have been ideal. Conway’s poor form in the last two games of the CT might be one of the reasons to drop him. The 33-year-old accumulated just 10 against Pakistan and 30 against Bangladesh in the last two fixtures of the tournament.
pitches like these are tailor-made for conway.😭😭
— 🌞I V∀ɹ🌞 (@LaplaceTF) March 2, 2025
Another reason to drop Devon Conway would be to accommodate Rachin Ravindra.
In the first CT fixture for New Zealand against Pakistan, Conway opened the innings followed by Daryl at No.4. In their second clash of the tournament against Bangladesh, Rachin returned to the playing XI while Daryl had to sit out. Rachin proved his selection worthy as he went on to score 112 runs in that match.
Both teams, India and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-final in the competition. However, this match remains a crucial contest because it will decide who will face Australia and South Africa among the other semi-finalists from Group B.
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India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke.
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