It is just as well Jacob Duffy likes a sneaky butter chicken.
The Otago fast bowler is going to be seeing plenty of that on his plate over the next few months.
Duffy was yesterday named in the Black Caps squad for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month.
That was obviously no surprise - the Southlander was in terrific form in 2025, claiming 81 international wickets across all formats to break a record held by Richard Hadlee for 40 years - but it does mean an extended period on the subcontinent is looming.
"It’s a great place. The experiences I’ve had there... you get looked after really well.
"The people are incredible - they love their cricket - and obviously we’re staying in very nice places, and they look after you very well.
"I love me a curry, so the butter chickens will get smashed over there and we’ll have a good time."
Those four months will bring him closer to another big moment in his life.
Duffy’s wife, Natasha, is expecting their first baby in June, around the time the Black Caps have a three-test series in England.
"She’s amazing. She is very excited, and on the other hand, obviously, a little anxious about me not being there for the pregnancy, which is tough.
"They go through so much, the wives at home. It’s awesome for us to obviously get the rewards and go through the cool experiences that we will get in India, but they do it tough at home, that’s for sure."
Duffy, 31, said it was "amazing" to be named in a squad for a World Cup for the first time.
He was not really on the radar - outside Otago, at least - for the last T20 World Cup in 2024, and he was picked for the Champions Trophy last year but did not play a game.
Times have changed.
Duffy has been patient for years but is a big dog in the kennel now, one of the first names selected for the Black Caps in all three formats, and is revelling in the success he is experiencing.
‘It’s all happened pretty quick, in a way... to go from the fringes, coming in and out of the squad, to playing every game.
"Last year, it felt like that’s probably the most special thing - the trust the coach has in you, to keep picking you, and then to go out there and add to winning contributions to teams, that’s what it’s all about.
"Obviously, the more you play, the more you back yourself on the international stage.
"I think all those years playing domestic cricket, they’ve set me up to be doing what I’m doing now.
"I feel like, within New Zealand anyway, I’ve had so many experiences that I can call back on. In the heat of the battle, even at an international level, I feel pretty comfortable and confident that I’ve got the skills to not only win games of cricket but hold my own and do a job for the team.
"Now I feel confident that I can go out there and do a job."
Duffy has had a short but valuable break since his heroics in the test series against the West Indies.
He has been rested for the ODI leg of the Black Caps’ tour of India starting next week but will join the squad for five T20s, valuable preparation for the World Cup.
Playing Super Smash games for the Volts in Dunedin on Monday and Thursday next week will give him the first opportunity to represent an Otago team without the provincial prefix.
Lumsden-raised Duffy has lobbied hard for the teams to be known as the Volts/Sparks, or perhaps Southern Districts, and said the change for the T20 teams was a "special step".
"I think the Southern name is a good name for the region. I guess it encapsulates all of Otago and Southland.
"Good things take time, and I think this is a stepping stone to something really cool. I know the guys in the current team are pretty on board, and they sort of understand it and are all behind it."
