India’s young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi warmed the benches during the recently concluded five-T20I series against West Indies at home. While Sooryavanshi continues to wait for his chance to play, New Zealand are not looking to leave any stone unturned to prepare against him. Ahead of the first T20I of the five-T20I series at home, the Kiwi pacer Jacob Duffy revealed that they’ve already prepared to tackle him. Duffy, who played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026-winning season, lauds Sooryavanshi, but he is up for the challenge posed by the big-hitting youngster.
“First of all, he’s an incredible talent. Obviously, he’s taken the IPL by storm and what’s amazing, he strikes it so hard but he does it so consistently,” Duffy told reporters on October 20, as quoted by Reuters.
“He’s striking at 250 (strike-rate) every game and he’s not missing out very often. So that’s incredible in itself.
“I think he played in England, so conditions will be a little bit different for him, so that’s obviously one thing for him to be challenged with.
“We’ve certainly had a good scouting session on him and got our plans as to what we want to do to him.”
Sooryavanshi’s T20I career so far
After a record-breaking IPL season for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sooryavanshi made it to the T20I squad. But he has managed to play just eight T20Is so far. Benched for the Ireland tour, he made his debut against England. He did not fire in his debut T20I series on English soil but found his groove on the Zimbabwe tour in the absence of a rested Sanju Samson.
In the Afghanistan T20I series, he did not get a chance as Samson made a comeback. He did not play in the historic rain-curtailed five over per side only T20I against Japan. The team management gave him a chance in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. He made it count with a useful contribution of 38 against Sri Lanka in the semifinal. He scored 15 runs in the gold medal match against Pakistan. It is yet to be seen whether he gets to play in the T20I series on New Zealand soil.
From eight T20Is, Sooryavanshi has scored 246 runs at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 186.36. He scored two half-centuries on the Zimbabwe tour.
After the West Indies T20I series, skipper Shreyas Iyer revealed that he has had clear communication with Sooryavanshi. He says that he assured Sooryavanshi of opportunities in the future. But he will wait for his time in the presence of Abhishek Sharma and Samson, India's opening pair of the T20 World Cup 2026-winning side. Before Iyer, head coach Gautam Gambhir had said the same about the 15-year-old southpaw.
Duffy’s rise
Duffy became a mainstay in the New Zealand T20I squad with 35 wickets from 21 T20Is in the previous calendar year. Among full-member nations, he was only behind India's Varun Chakaravarthy and Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz, who had 36 wickets each in the calendar year.
The performances earned him his maiden IPL contract with RCB. He filled in as the overseas pacer for Rajat Patidar-led side in the absence of Josh Hazlewood. From six games, he took nine wickets, averaging 29.22. His economy rate was unimpressive at nearly 11 runs per over.
Did Duffy vs Sooryavanshi happen in IPL 2026?
This will be the first time Duffy will face Sooryavanshi. In IPL 2026, the only clash between RCB and RR on April 10 featured Hazlewood, and Duffy was benched. Sooryavanshi went on to score 78 runs from 26 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes in the run chase of 202.
Duffy’s T20I record vs India and at home
Duffy hasn’t had much success against India in the format. He has seven wickets from eight T20Is at 38 apiece. His economy rate is 10.78 runs per over in T20Is against India.
However, this will be the first time Duffy will be bowling to India in home conditions. He has been exceptional in T20Is played on New Zealand soil with 40 wickets from 20 games, including five four-wicket hauls at an average of 12.27. His economy rate drops to 7.25 runs per over at home.
Duffy takes a dig at Hyderabad pitch
Duffy also gave an update about the nature of the pitch. He talked to Hagley Oval's head groundsman, where the T20I opener will be played. As expected, it will be a seamer-friendly track. But Duffy would settle for any pitch as long as it is not Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
“He’s from Invercargill, so he’s promised me a little bit of bounce,” said the 32-year-old pacer. “As long as it’s not Hyderabad, I’m happy.”
Duffy wants to play Tests vs India
Duffy is also targeting a spot in New Zealand's Test side. He made his Test debut against Zimbabwe last year. From four games, he claimed 25 wickets at an average of 16.28, including three fifers. His previous Test appearance was against West Indies last year.
New Zealand are yet to announce their squad for the two-Test series against India. After that, New Zealand will tour Australia for a four-Test series.
Duffy was not a part of New Zealand’s Test side on English soil earlier this year. As Will O’Rourke’s participation is uncertain, Duffy may get a chance, especially considering the number of Tests left in the year where he bagged nine wickets, including a fifer in the second innings.
India vs New Zealand T20I squads
India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Daryl Mitchell, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Blair Tickner.