All aboard the Jacob Duffy Express: Pace, precision and persistence

Let’s tell you a story today. A story of a small village which only has a population of 530 people. A village in New Zealand called Lumsden. In this very village you will find almost everyone knowing everyone. And considering that everyone is popular, there’s one of them who is more popular, not just to Lumsden but to the entire cricketing world as one of the most consistent and successful T20I bowlers in the last couple of years, Jacob Duffy.

RCB signed him at his base price of INR 2 crore at the IPL 2026 Auction. One might say that this is actually a steal deal because the numbers with which he comes in, will be quite a significant bother for the batters at the other end. 53 T20I wickets from 38 games at an economy rate of 7.34 in a mould where the general scores are now shifting to 10 and above in an over.

Also, just in case you are wondering what makes Duffy so special, the answer is quite nuanced actually. When he started practicing in his backyard with his dad and two other brothers, Matt and Ryan, they had to roll a makeshift pitch so that cricket stayed alive, even if it snowed for six months in Lumsden.

Despite not willing to move away from the city, Jacob had to shift to Invercargill to complete his schooling and that was where he started playing structured cricket. The rest they say is history. Well, history doesn’t always come in with all glory. It is a nice tryst between fleeting triumphs and unending depths. Similarly, Duffy’s tale is one of wax and wanes.

When Duffy hit the U19 scene, his action collapsed in his delivery stride. It’s not easy being a fast bowler, storming in at 6 feet. Is it? Well, Duffy adapted. The technical tweaks to his action and some consistent performances earned him his first international call-up in 2020. Despite not having a straight road in the first couple of years, Duffy kept on putting in insane hard work.

The dividends paid off but it took a while. The last two years, Duffy has been relentless in cricket’s fastest lane. A man who relies more on discipline and the conventional variations, Duffy can be the perfect member that will slot just right in the championship squad for RCB.

Duffy is not about raw pace but the focus that makes him a lethal contender with the new ball in his hands. Also, blessed with the finesse of moving the ball both ways, Duffy adds some serious strength to RCB’s bowling unit which has already shown that it can raze through any batting ranks at will.