New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy praised Virat Kohli for his humility after they shared the RCB dressing room during their IPL title-winning campaign. Duffy said, "He's obviously a megastar over there, for him to be so down-to-earth was pretty cool." They now face each other in the ODI series starting November 4.
Jacob Duffy is looking forward to facing Virat Kohli in the upcoming ODI series after sharing the RCB dressing room with the Indian batting great during their IPL title-winning campaign earlier this year.
New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy got a close look at Virat Kohli during their time together at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and came away impressed by the Indian batting great's humility and work ethic.
Kohli may be a superstar in India, where his popularity borders on reverence, but Duffy found him to be remarkably down-to-earth. The New Zealand fast bowler said the former India captain made a conscious effort to make overseas players feel welcome during RCB's title-winning IPL campaign earlier this year.
"I got to see him yesterday. 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.
"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," he added.
India and New Zealand will begin their five-match ODI series in Auckland on November 4, giving Duffy an opportunity to face Kohli again, this time as an opponent.
The two have already spent plenty of time facing each other, albeit in the nets at RCB. Duffy said their regular practice sessions gave him a good understanding of Kohli's game, while the Indian batter also had an opportunity to assess the New Zealand pacer's bowling.
"He's got a great work ethic. 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."
DUFFY EYES STRONG ODI SERIES
Duffy will head into the ODI series with some confidence after an impressive comeback in the fourth T20I against India. Having conceded plenty of runs in the second and third matches, the pacer responded with four wickets as New Zealand registered an 87-run victory.
The focus will now shift to the 50-over format, which Duffy believes presents a different challenge for fast bowlers. He particularly enjoys the changing demands of bowling across the two innings, from exploiting movement with the new ball to dealing with the demands of the final overs.
"Personally, I quite like ODI cricket. What I like about it is that up top, you get a little bit of the hard lengths with the swinging ball and stuff like that. Then you get a little bit of the hit and giggle near the end."
2027 WORLD CUP IN NZ'S RADAR
With the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa now a year away, the upcoming series will also be an important part of New Zealand's preparations.
Duffy acknowledged the importance of the tournament, recalling how watching the 2015 and 2019 editions shaped his ambitions as a young cricketer. The fast bowler said the coming months would be crucial as players look to make their case for a place in the World Cup squad.
"We've also got the World Cup about this time next year in South Africa. That's pretty high on the priority list, I think.
"Growing up (watching the) 2015 World Cup, 2019 World Cup, those, to me, are the pinnacles of our game. Those are the major events that I grew up watching and strived for and wanted to be there for those.
"A year out from that, these games play a pretty important role in that. I guess we're trying to build and push for a case to make that squad," he added.