Marco Jansen has been on a ride for more than a year now. It started with the SA20 2025, where he was the highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets for runners-up Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He carried the momentum into IPL 2025, where he bagged 16 wickets for his new team Punjab Kings (PBKS) during their run to the final.
When South Africa toured India in late 2025, he also claimed 12 wickets at 10.08 apiece in the two Tests when the visitors swept the hosts. Jansen followed that by taking 11 wickets at an average of 21.54 in the T20 World Cup, where South Africa played all their matches in India. The success in both the longest and shortest formats “doesn’t surprise” Jansen, who feels his attributes as a bowler are similar to Josh Hazlewood’s.
“I still ask the same question: how does he just hit a length, and he picks up wickets, he doesn’t go for a lot of runs, and he’s consistent as well?” Jansen said in a media interaction on Thursday. “He also has variations, [and] I also have one or two variations. But I think it comes down to both of us [being] tall bowlers… I think the problem, especially when I was younger, came in where I was trying to bowl similar to what other guys were bowling, sort of not realising that what I bring to the table is different to what other bowlers are bringing to the table, and [that] I have to find my own way to be effective and put consistent performances in for the team.
“I think [in] the last year or so, I’ve felt comfortable in my own skin. I’ve felt comfortable in doing what I feel is best to help me stay consistent and perform on a consistent basis. Obviously, you’re going to get your off days, but the goal is just to try and stay consistent, and not have those good performances few and far between; [rather], try and stack them as close as possible.”
In his second year with PBKS, Jansen has so far played a different role for the franchise in IPL 2026 compared to last year. In IPL 2025, he bowled the first or second over three times in his first six innings. This time, Jansen has done it only once in five innings so far, against Mumbai Indians, when he conceded 19 runs in two overs in the powerplay.
Jansen got the new ball four times in his next eight innings last season, but is content to play the role of a first- or second-change bowler this time. PBKS have preferred the left-right pair of Arshdeep Singh and Xavier Bartlett with the new ball this IPL, and they have combined to bowl 11 of the 12 first or second overs so far.
Jansen, meanwhile, has bowled the majority of his overs in the middle overs (7 to 16), by which time the ball starts to lose its shine. He says bowling later in the innings doesn’t mean “my weapon is taken away”, although he has to take “a different approach” when he gets the slightly older ball.
“It’s nothing like that,” Jansen said when asked if he had found it difficult to adapt to the new role. “It’s actually the opposite because Arshdeep and X [Bartlett] swing the ball consistently, and they swing the ball consistently more than I do. I understand that. And at the same time, I also realise and understand that I have different attributes, different skills that I bring to the bowling unit and to the table.
“It’s just from a bowling unit [point of view] everyone knows that wherever we bowl, there’s a plan, there’s a reason. And it’s not a case of, in my case, that they don’t believe I can’t do a good job bowling the first or second over with the new ball. It’s a case of how are we going to bowl well with the ball as a unit, if that makes sense.”
Jansen reaches the halfway stage of the tournament with just five wickets in six matches this time. However, he hasn’t been expensive so far, with an economy rate of 8.50 compared to 9.20 last year.
“For us, as a unit, I think we know exactly what each and every bowler can do, and what he does best,” he said. “And I think, on a particular day, it’s a case of reading the conditions, trying multiple options… And then regarding the wicket-taking column, for me, that’s a tricky one because you can have one bowler who’s on top of the wicket-takers list, but then all the other bowlers might not be as fortunate. So I think for us, it’s nice to see that at least [the bowlers are] executing what they’re training to do.”
Jansen’s next major T20 assignment is Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA, where he is set to represent Washington Freedom again after stints with them in 2023 and 2024. He then heads to England to play for Welsh Fire for his maiden outing in the Hundred. Having already played in franchise leagues in South Africa, India and the USA, Jansen is trying to “embrace the culture” around the world, even as he looks to make some friends.
“We have a short career. If you are blessed enough, then you can play 10, 12 years or whatever the case may be,” he said. “But I see it as I have a short career, and I want to make it count. And at the same time, if I can make [it count] and [make it] full of friends at the same time, then I’m going to do that.”
