“Marco and I have never played against each other before”- Duan Jansen ahead of SRH vs MI tie

Marco Jansen and Duan Jansen are the first pair of twins to participate in the Indian Premier League.

When Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) host Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 18, 2023 for the 25th match of the IPL 2023, the fans could very well see the first instance of identical twins playing in the Indian Premier League as Duan Jansen will face off against twin Marco Jansen.

While Marco Jansen will turn out for Sunrisers Hyderabad, his twin Duan Jansen will make an appearance for MI, who recently made his IPL debut for MI in their last match. Both the South Africans are tall left-arm pacers who can also handle the bat pretty well.

Speaking ahead of the game, Duan Jansen said that he was looking forward to facing his brother since they have never played against each other in their entire lives.

“Actually, the thing is that we have never played against each other. We really want to play against each other. So, I’m very excited, and hopefully, we get that opportunity.

Obviously, everyone knows my brother. But I’m different. We may do the same thing on the field, but I'm a different human being and bring something different to the table. So I just want to showcase myself and show people who I am," Duan Jansen to MI website.

The tall left-arm pacers shot to fame after bowling to Virat Kohli when India toured South Africa and since have been imported to the Indian Premier League.

We bowled well on that day and caught the attention of Virat Kohli himself: Duan Jansen

India were touring South Africa and was training at the Wanderers ahead of the third Test. Then the 17-year-old twins Marco and Duan Jansen were the net bowlers and they seemed to catch Virat Kohli’s eye, who promptly summoned them over to his net.

Marco was originally scouted by Mumbai Indians and brought into the IPL, who has since moved to the SRH team. Duan Jansen was brought by MI in IPL 2023.

Talking about the moment when they shot to fame, Duan revealed the story of bowling to the Indian team.

“Our Head Coach at the stadium told us we could go there and bowl to the Indian cricket team. You want to bowl at the Indian superstars and the international players; we were very excited. Luckily, we bowled well on that day and caught the attention of Virat Kohli himself. He then called us over to his net to bowl to him. It was good bowling to him and seeing where our skills were at against one of the best players in the world,” Duan said.

Both SRH and MI are at the bottom half of the table.