New Zealand head coach Gary Stead noted that India playing all their Champions Trophy 2025 games in Dubai is something out of their hands. He explained that constant travelling has been hard for the team but the players are up for the challenge in the final against India.
New Zealand travelled the most in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. The Mitchell Santner-led side played their first game in Karachi, followed by their game against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. The Black Caps then moved to Dubai to take on India for their last group match. After that, the team once again moved back to Pakistan and played the semi-final against South Africa in Lahore. After qualifying for the final, New Zealand are back in Dubai to participate in the summit clash against India.
On the contrary, the Men in Blue has been in Dubai since the tournament began. Reflecting on that, Stead noted that New Zealand are in no position to comment on that and stated that they are lucky to have played one game on the same ground earlier in the tournament. He added that the venue doesn’t matter much to the team as the ultimate goal is to play good cricket and be better than the opponent.
“They’re not decisions that come across my desk anyway. For us, it’s something that we can’t control, so it’s really just getting on with it. Yes, India have played their four matches here. We’re lucky enough to have had one here against them. It was a good match, without us quite putting our best foot forward as well. Wherever you play, you just have to go up and be able to be better than them on the day, and that’s our focus,” Stead said.
Speaking about their constant travel in the Champions Trophy, Stead mentioned that it often ‘takes it out of you’ but added that they have a couple of days to recover and go for the final, slated to take place on March 9. He believes that training ahead of a final isn’t key and explains that the body and mind need to be in the right place to compete hard.
“No doubt that coming here after Lahore – we had a full day of travel yesterday – takes it out of you a little bit. But we’ve got a couple of days now, a little bit of recovery and a little bit of planning and training towards the game. But I guess we’re deep into the tournament now and sometimes it’s not always a lot of training that you need. It’s just getting your body and your mind right to compete in the final. That will be our key focus over the next two days,” Stead said.
