During the mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, once the name of New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy came up, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hardly had any question in lifting the paddle for the 31-year-old. Starting from an opening bid at INR 2 crore, the defending champions closed the deal at the same price. 

Jacob Duffy has been a fabulous bowler for his national side. He is also the number 2-ranked bowler in the ICC rankings for the T20Is. It will also be his very first season in the Indian Premier League. The Kiwi pacer’s availability will be vital for the franchise, given there is no guarantee on Josh Hazlewood, who has been picking up regular injuries.

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Duffy is tall and can swing the ball both ways, but it took a while for him to harness all those natural attributes. His action wasn’t smooth at the start of his career, but it later got better as he moved up through the ranks.

Who is Jacob Duffy whom RCB bought for INR 2 crore?

Duffy has been a young member of the New Zealand side and will share the dressing room with some of the greats of the game, including the best of the generation, Virat Kohli. Here are some of Duffy’s records in T20s.

• Duffy has picked up 53 wickets in 36 innings of the shortest format for the Kiwis at an average of around 17 and a strike rate of 13.80 with the help of five four-wicket hauls at the best figure of 4/14 in an innings.
• Overall in T20s, he has bagged 178 wickets in 150 innings at an average of 24.33 and a strike rate of 17.4 with an economy rate of 8.35, thanks to seven four-wicket and two five-wicket hauls at the best figures of 5/18 in an innings.
• Recently, Duffy featured in the Men’s Hundred, where he picked up eight wickets in seven innings at an average of 22.50 and an economy rate of nine.