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New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy has been in sensational form across formats. After his exceptional run in T20Is, Duffy led the pace attack against the West Indies and picked up three fifers to bag ‘Player of the series’ award. He also broke legendary Richard Hadlee’s record for most wickets in a calendar year across formats for a New Zealander. His stellar performances earned praise from India’s legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who hailed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for picking him. As RCB roped him in for base price of Rs 2 crore, Ashwin went on to label it an ‘absolute steal’.
“What a cricketer Jacob Duffy is turning out to be. 2025 has been his coming of age year,” Ashwin wrote on X.
“23 wickets at 15.43, 40.3 Strike rate and MOS in the tests against Windies.
“He’s also the current #2 ranked T20I bowler, with a sensational 2025 in T20s with 57 wickets at 18.9, 7.89 economy, and an elite 53.1% dot ball rate. At 31, he’s operating at peak efficiency.
“Absolute steal by RCB to pick him up at a base price of 2C. Sensational coup.”
Duffy’s reaction to breaking Hadlee’s record
On Day 5, Duffy triggered West Indies’ batting collapse. From 87 for no loss, they were bowled out for 138 as New Zealand won the third Test by 323 runs and win the series 2-0.
“Yeah, hard to know. That’s a weird one. I saw that list at lunchtime in the lunchroom and there are some cool names on there. To be up there on any kind of list with those sorts of names is pretty special. It’s been a cool year. It’s been good fun and I’m just bloody enjoying it,” Duffy said in the post-match presentation, reacting to breaking Hadlee’s record (in year 1985) that stood for 40 years.
Duffy’s astonishing numbers in 2025
Duffy claimed 81 wickets from 36 games across formats (international cricket) at an average of 17.11, featuring three fifers. No other bowler has more than 70 wickets in international cricket this year.
Duffy is the second-ranked T20I bowler, only behind India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Duffy is second on the list of most T20I wickets in 2025 (among full-member teams. Chakravarthy and Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz have 36 wickets each. Duffy has claimed 35 wickets from 21 T20Is at an average of 15.08, featuring three fifers.
Hazlewood’s backup or frontline pacer?
The 31-year-old will be seen in action in the limited-overs series on Indian soil starting January 11, 2026. He will be crucial to New Zealand’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup 2026. His performances in Indian conditions will determine whether Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) make him a prominent part of playing eleven or just a backup for Josh Hazlewood.
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