The Champions Trophy 2025 final between India and New Zealand is all set to take place at the Dubai International Stadium on March 9. Former Team India cricketer Ravi Shastri picked four New Zealand players who can stand tall in India`s way to claim the title

Ahead of the final, Ravi Shastrl feels rising star Rachin Ravindra will be the main man India will find difficult in the title clash. "I just like the way he moves in the crease. There`s an element of fluency, which is fabulous to see. He`s either forward, he`s back, he`ll cut, he`ll sweep it, play the quicks well and he`s got a very good temperament. You don`t get hundreds in big tournaments like this just like that"

The second player, Shastri, didn`t hold himself back from heaping praises on Kane Williamson. "He`s very stable and there`s an element of calmness, a no-nonsense element about him the way he goes about his job. He`s like a saint, a sage, just sitting, meditating. A lot of people look at the big shots, I look at the way he moves in the crease. There`s an element of fluency"

With the ball, the former Team India player was nothing short of praise for Mitchell Santner. "He`s an intelligent man. And I think this captaincy suits him. It just adds that edge to him as a batter, as a bowler, as a cricketer. So I think it`s a smart move by New Zealand opting for that and just the way he goes about his job, like I said, he`s a good reader of the game, is an intelligent bloke"

The fourth player, Shastri hailed, was the talk of the town, Glenn Phillips. "He might just show flashes of brilliance in the field. He might come and smash a cameo of 40-50 and probably surprise you by taking a wicket or two"