Jacob Duffy stated that he is looking forward to facing Virat Kohli in the upcoming ODI series between India and New Zealand. The fast bowler, who shared a dressing room with the former India captain during IPL 2026 at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), was impressed by his down-to-earth personality.
Duffy is currently part of the New Zealand squad for the five-match T20I series against India. He conceded 44 runs in two overs during the third T20I in Wellington, where India chased 199 with 40 balls remaining. However, he bounced back with figures of 4/23 in New Zealand’s 87-run win in the fourth match in Auckland.
‘He Was Awesome to Me’: Jacob Duffy on Facing Virat Kohli
Speaking during a media interaction in Auckland on Sunday, Duffy recalled meeting Virat Kohli again during the tour. He said the experience of sharing a dressing room with one of India’s biggest sporting stars made the prospect of facing him in an international match even more exciting.
“I got to see him [Kohli] yesterday,” Duffy said. “He was in the gym, obviously, so running into him there was cool, but he was awesome to me.”
“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.”
Jacob Duffy Reveals Tactical Discussions With Virat Kohli at RCB
Duffy also spoke about the time he spent bowling to Virat Kohli during RCB’s net sessions. The New Zealand pacer said the Indian batter’s work ethic stood out, as they regularly faced each other during practice.
“He’s got a great work ethic,” Duffy said. “Obviously, I bowled a lot to him in the nets because he was always the first batter and I was always the first bowler. We actually spent a lot of time facing each other in the nets, so that’s quite cool.”
“But also from there, he’s seen a lot of me now too, so he’ll have good preparation. 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.”
Virat Kohli’s ODI Numbers Ahead of New Zealand Series
Virat Kohli has scored 552 runs in nine innings across nine matches this year, averaging 69.00 at a strike rate of 117.94. His tally includes two centuries and three half-centuries, with an unbeaten 139 as his highest score.
The former India captain also enjoyed a productive ODI series against the West Indies, scoring 168 runs in three innings. He struck an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls to help India chase down a target of 296 in the opening match.
The 37-year-old is the second-highest run-scorer in ODI history. He has accumulated 15,109 runs at an average of 58.78, including 55 centuries and 79 half-centuries, with his highest score being 183.
The first ODI between India and New Zealand will take place at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday, November 4. Team India selected two split squads for the series, with Test players unavailable for the final two games.
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