Ahead of IPL 2026, RCB New Recruit Breaks 40-Year-Old Record To Cap Off Stellar 2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) new recruit pacer Jacob Duffy took a five-wicket haul in the second innings against West Indies during the third Test. New Zealand won the match by 323 runs and clinched the series 2-0.
RCB pacer enjoys record-breaking year for New Zealand
Duffy won the player of the series award after taking 23 wickets in six innings in the Test series. He had three five-wicket hauls and one four-wicket haul. With this heroic performance, he also broke a 40-year-old record as the most wickets for New Zealand in a calendar year, surpassing Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 79 wickets in 1985. Duffy ended the year 2025 with 81 international wickets, including 21 in ODIs, 25 in Tests, and 35 in T20Is.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, he said that it was a weird feeling. He saw the list and noticed some legendary names on it, so to be up there with them was a pretty special thing for him.
“That’s a weird one. I saw that list at lunch time in the lunch room and man, there’s some cool names on there, so to be up there on any kind of list with with those sort of names is pretty special,” Duffy said.
“It’s been a cool year. It’s been good fun. I’m just bloody enjoying it,” he added.
Most wickets for New Zealand in a Calendar Year
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Year |
| Jacob Duffy | 36 | 81 | 2025 |
| Sir Richard Hadlee | 23 | 79 | 1985 |
| Daniel Vettori | 33 | 76 | 2008 |
| Trent Boult | 25 | 72 | 2015 |
| Trent Boult | 27 | 69 | 2017 |
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Jacob Duffy set to finish 2025 as leading wicket-taker in international cricket
Duffy is not only ending 2025 as the player with the most wickets for New Zealand, but he is also set to finish the year with the most wickets overall in international cricket. He currently has 81 wickets, while the next closest is Blessing Muzarabani with 65 wickets. There is also a Boxing Day Test match between Australia and England, where Starc is at 54 wickets, but he is still far behind Duffy. This means that Duffy is on track to end the year with most wickets in international cricket in 2025.
Most Wickets in International Cricket in 2025
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets |
| Jacob Duffy | New Zealand | 36 | 81 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Zimbabwe | 27 | 65 |
| Matt Henry | New Zealand | 31 | 65 |
| Ali Dawood | Bahrain | 37 | 63 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 25 | 60 |
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