Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Jacob Duffy for his excellent performances this year and alsoapplauded Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for picking him at a low price at the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
Reacting to Duffy’s stunning performances against the West Indies, Ashwin lauded him on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “What a cricketer Jacob Duffy is turning out to be. 2025 has been his coming-of-age year. 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.”
Duffy recently grabbed nine wickets during the final Test against the West Indies, which helped New Zealand seal a massive 323-run win. His performance in this Test also broke Richard Hadlee’s 40-year-old record. Duffy now has 81 wickets in the 2025 calendar year, the most by a New Zealand bowler. Hadlee had taken 79 wickets in 1985.
Duffy finished the West Indies series as the highest wicket-taker. He picked up 23 wickets at an economy rate of 2.29 in three Tests. Ashwin was also impressed with RCB’s move to buy Duffy. He added, “Absolute steal by RCB to pick him up at a base price of 2C. Sensational coup.”
RCB signed Duffy at his base price of INR 2 crore in the IPL 2026 mini-auction held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
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