New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy has expressed genuine excitement at the prospect of bowling to Virat Kohli in the ongoing T20I series against India, describing the experience as something he is very much looking forward to. Duffy made these remarks during a media interaction in Auckland on November 1, 2026, ahead of the fifth T20I.
Duffy and Kohli were teammates at Royal Challengers Bengaluru during IPL 2026, where the New Zealander was signed for INR 2 crore at the auction. Having shared a dressing room with one of cricket's most celebrated batters, Duffy now finds himself on the opposite side of the contest in international cricket.
Duffy opened up on his first interaction with Kohli for the ongoing tour ahead of the ODI opener on November 04.
"I got to see him [Virat Kohli] yesterday (October 31). He was in the gym, obviously, so running into him there was cool, but he was awesome to me," Duffy was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Duffy described Kohli as a "down to earth" individual despite being a "religious figure" in India, underlining the warmth of their relationship from their time together at RCB.
"Obviously, for such a religious figure, I guess you almost say, in India - he's obviously a megastar over there - for him to be so down-to-earth and sort of welcome all us overseas guys in RCB was pretty cool, so very appreciative for him for that. It'll be awesome to play against him now that I've sort of shared a changing room with him as well," the BlackCaps pacer said.
What did Duffy and Kohli discuss during their time at RCB?
Beyond the camaraderie of a shared dressing room, Duffy revealed that his interactions with Kohli during IPL 2026 went well into the specifics of the game. The two had numerous conversations around strategy and tactics suited to Indian conditions, with Kohli drawing on his vast experience of playing on pitches across the country.
Duffy said he had numerous interactions with Kohli during his time at RCB around strategy and tactics on Indian grounds.
"I guess we talk a lot about fine details. We talk about certain wickets back in India. Certain wickets are quite different, so he talked a lot about the different lines and lengths on those kind of wickets and how he adjusts and how he thinks I could be adjusting on those ones too. So little insights like that were quite important from him," Duffy elaborated.
The two also spent considerable time facing each other in the nets during IPL 2026, giving Duffy a close-up look at how Kohli approaches his batting. That experience, combined with the tactical discussions, means Duffy heads into this series with a more informed understanding of the Indian batting great than most international bowlers would have.
How has Duffy performed in the T20I series against India so far?
Duffy has had a mixed series with the ball heading into the final match. His standout contribution came in the fourth T20I in Auckland on October 30, 2026, when he claimed four wickets for 23 runs as New Zealand secured an 87-run victory to level the series.
However, the third T20I in Wellington told a different story. Duffy conceded 44 runs in just two overs on that occasion, a match in which India chased down a target of 199 with 40 balls to spare. The contrast between those two performances reflects the fine margins that define T20 cricket at the international level.
Across IPL 2026, Duffy took nine wickets in six matches for RCB, with a best return of 3 for 22, demonstrating that he had made a solid impression in his debut IPL campaign before earning his place in New Zealand's T20I setup for this series against India.
