Sears, who was a traveling reserve for the T20 World Cup last year, has recently played his first game since April having returned in the Super Smash following injury and is in line for his ODI debut having played one Test and 17 T20Is. O’Rourke has impressed across formats early in his international career, but has been especially eye-catching in Tests.
Smith, meanwhile, will bring lower-order power with the bat and bustling seam bowling.
The final in South Africa will be played on February 9 with the ILT20 decider the following day. New Zealand will play Pakistan on February 8 in their first game of the tri-series followed by South Africa on February 10. They then have a warm-up match against Afghanistan on February 16.
“We’re currently blessed with a lot of quality players and that certainly made for some challenging selection discussions,” head coach Gary Stead said. “Ultimately, we’ve gone with the squad that will offer us the best options to perform well in the expected conditions in Pakistan and the UAE. We’re lucky to have a large chunk of the group with significant international and tournament experience to draw upon.
“The tournament format is a unique one in that you have to hit the ground running which means our preparation in the pre-leading Tri Series is really important. It’s going to be a great occasion opening the tournament against hosts in Pakistan in Karachi and we can’t wait to get over there and get stuck in.”
Mark Chapman and Will Young have earned spots while spin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell is also included.
New Zealand are grouped with Pakistan, Bangladesh and India for the group stage meaning they will travel to Dubai to face the latter.
New Zealand squad for Champions Trophy and Pakistan Tri-Series
Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young
