“Bit of a surprise…”: NZ pacer Duffy on being crowned number one T20I bowler

Duffy was rewarded for his recent heroics in the series against Pakistan as he reigned supreme in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings.

Opening up on his achievement, Duffy told New Zealand Cricket as quoted by ICC, “It is a bit of a surprise. It is awesome to be amongst some of the players on that list. Getting that kind of recognition is pretty cool.”

“I honestly do not know what to say. I have had a lot of messages today around that kind of thing. It is a little bit surreal, to be honest,” he added.

Duffy became the first New Zealand player to hold the premier bowling ranking in men’s T20I cricket since spinner Ish Sodhi in 2018.

The 30-year-old rose to four spots in the latest rankings to leap past Wanindu Hasaranga, Adil Rashid, Varun Chakravarthy and Akeal Hosein, who held the top spot previously.

In the absence of first-team regulars such as Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, Duffy emerged as an impressive pacer for New Zealand. In the recent T20I series against Pakistan, he bagged an impressive 13 wickets from his five outings at an average of 8.38 as New Zealand emerged victorious 4-1.

Duffy is also currently the joint-highest wicket-taker in the ODI series against Pakistan, with five dismissals from the two matches so far.

“It has been amazing, just to be in and around the group for the last three or four years, sort of getting a game here and there, but to really get stuck in and play consistent games, get whole series, it has been awesome,” he added.

“I just want to be a regular member of the Black Caps across all three formats and win games of cricket for the country.”

Having gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, New Zealand will lock horns in the third and last ODI on Saturday, 5 April in Mount Maunganui.

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