Ahead Of 1st T20I, New Zealand Star Delivers Blockbuster Praise For Bhuvneshwar Kumar

New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy heaped praise on his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the Indian speedster made his return to the national fold ahead of the upcoming five-match series between India and New Zealand. Duffy said Bhuvneshwar “is not the fastest guy in the world, but he's so skilful." The five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand will begin from November 22 onwards, with the first T20I at Christchurch. Bhuvneshwar's India career had been on hold since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide. Nearly four years later, the 36-year-old has earned a long-awaited recall to the national side after impressing with a string of consistent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Duffy, who shared the cricket field with Bhuvneshwar for RCB in IPL 2026, praised the Indian pacer's ability to swing the ball, maintain a good length, read batters and vary his deliveries, saying he enjoyed playing alongside Bhuvneshwar at RCB and looked forward to seeing him in action again.

“He's not the fastest guy in the world, but man, he's so skilful. Obviously, he swings the ball, he hits with a much better length, he reads batters very well, and he's got the skills to change it up too. So, it was very cool to see him from his team's point of view to be on his side and see how he goes about it. Looking forward to seeing him,” Duffy said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the first T20I.

Notably, Bhuvneshwar has had a resurgence with the RCB in the IPL, with his 45 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 22.55 and an economy rate of 8.52, helping the franchise to back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026. In the IPL 2026 season, Bhuvneshwar was the second-highest wicket-taker with 28 scalps in 16 matches at an average of 17.89, with an economy rate of 7.95.

Duffy said bowling in Indian conditions during the IPL is particularly challenging, praising Bhuvneshwar and Kagiso Rabada as the 2026 tournament's best bowlers.

“Indian conditions, like the IPL is obviously, with the impact sub and with those pitches and those grounds, that's got to be the highest place in the world to bowl and him and probably Rabada right there, two obviously best bowlers in the whole tournament,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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