Who is Jacob Duffy? Injured Ben Sears' replacement for New Zealand in Champions Trophy 2025

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, New Zealand has made a big change in their team as Jacob Duffy has been added to the team. Jacob Duffy comes in as a replacement for Ben Sears. A hamstring injury kept Ben Sears away from the tournament.

Jacob Duffy made his debut in 2020 but did not get many chances for the Black Caps. With Duffy in the New Zealand roster for the 2025 Champions Trophy, the country's pace attack gains an exciting new dimension. He might be a vital tool for the Kiwis because of his reputation for swinging the ball both ways and extracting bounce. In 2012, Jacob Duffy, who was born on August 2, 1994, made his senior Otago debut at the age of 17. 

Making an impression didn't take him long. Duffy took 29 wickets in eight games, ranking among Otago's leading wicket-takers by the end of the 2017-18 Plunket Shield season. With 25 dismissals in 11 games, he topped Otago's bowling rankings in the 2018-19 Ford Trophy, demonstrating his sustained success. With 13 wickets in nine games in the Super Smash T20, he was once again among the top wickettakers. Due to his achievements at home, Duffy was selected for New Zealand A and then the national team without hesitation.

ICC Champion Trophy is perfect time to get place in squad 

In 2020, he made his T20I debut against Pakistan, in which he picked up four wickets and gave 33 runs. He also won the Man of the Match award. After Jeff Wilson in 1993, Jacob Duffy became the first player to play for New Zealand from South Africa. In 2024 he got his first central contract for New Zealand. In recent times his performance has been phenomenal. In the T20I series against Sri Lanka, he won the Player of the Series award as he picked eight wickets from three games.

However, he is not as fast as other New Zealand pace bowlers; he can click 130 to 140 km/h. Ahead of the tournament, he has the perfect time to show his bowling skills, which will be helpful to make him a permanent member of the squad as New Zealand will be looking for promising bowlers.