Getting out for a duck in the T20I format is not something to be scoffed at in modern times. For in the search of quick and impactful runs, sometimes batters go after the bowling right from the onset of their innings and get out while playing risky shots.
Sometimes batsmen also get some superb deliveries – viciously swinging ones at the start of the innings against the new ball; or perfect yorkers toward the end of the team innings – which could result in the batter’s dismissal for a duck.
Here’s the list of batsmen with most ducks in men’s T20Is:
Paul Stirling – 13
Ireland captain Paul Stirling has recorded the most number of ducks in T20Is – 13.
Having made his T20I debut in 2009, Paul Stirling, who has featured in 131 T20Is – he’s the second-most capped T20I men’s player in the world – has been dismissed for a duck 13 times. Stirling has scored 3408 runs in T20Is – he’s the fifth highest men’s T20I run-scorer in the world – and has notched up 1 century and 23 fifties.
Kevin O’Brien – 12
Former Ireland batsman Kevin O’Brien is second on the list with 12 ducks in T20Is to his name. Kevin O’Brien played in 110 T20Is from 2008 to 2021. The right-hander finished his career with 1973 T20I runs, hitting one century and 5 fifties.
Regis Chakabva and Soumya Sarkar – 11
With 11 ducks each, Zimbabwe’s Regis Chakabva and Bangladesh’s Soumya Sarkar are third on the list with the most number of ducks in T20Is.
That Chakabva has 11 ducks in 49 T20I innings is quite shocking. Both Chakabva and Sarkar have a poor strike rate of 122 in T20Is.
Rohit Sharma, T Dilshan, Dasun Shanaka, Umar Akmal – 10
Four big-name cricketers have 10 ducks each in T20Is: India captain and opener Rohit Sharma, former Sri Lanka captain and opener T Dilshan, current Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka, and former Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal. All four are tied for the fourth-highest number of ducks in T20Is.
India skipper and opener Rohit Sharma is currently the second leading run-scorer in men’s T20Is with 3853 runs at an average of 31. Rohit has cracked 4 centuries – a record in T20Is – along with 29 fifties in the format.
T Dilshan had a decade-long T20I career in which he scored 1889 runs in 80 T20Is. Shanaka led Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup T20 2022 trophy last year. The inspirational Sri Lankan skipper has featured in 88 T20Is to date. For Umar Akmal, the former Pakistani keeper-batsman played in 84 T20Is between 2009 and 2019 scoring 1690 runs.
