World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma opened the innings for India in their fourth Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Wednesday (February 18) against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad but
failed to open his account. He was clean bowled by spinner Aryan Dutt on the third ball of India’s innings. The duck by Abhishek against the Dutch team in Ahmedabad was his third zero score in three T20 World Cup matches for the Indian men’s cricket team. He is the first batter in the world to score three ducks in the first three T20 World Cup matches. Bangladesh’s Imrul Kayes scored two ducks in his first two T20 World Cup matches in 2010.
India’s Ashish Nehra scored three ducks in three innings of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, but it happened across two editions, and after scoring back-to-back ducks against Australia and the West Indies in 2010, Nehra didn’t get a chance to bat in the third match against Sri Lanka. He was not included in India’s squad for the 2012 and 2014 editions of the T20 World Cup, but in the first match of the 2016 T20 World Cup, Nehra once again failed to open his account.
Abhishek made his T20 World Cup debut for India on February 7 in Mumbai against the United States of America but got out for a golden duck. He missed India’s second Group A match against Namibia in Delhi on February 12 due to a stomach bug, but he was back for the third match against arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo. In the match played at the R. Premadasa Stadium on February 15, he was sent back to the pavilion for a four-ball duck by Salman Ali Agha.
Abhishek Sharma’s performance in T20 World Cup
| AGAINST | RUNS | BALLS | VENUE | DATE |
| USA | 0 | 1 | Mumbai (WS) | February 7, 2026 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 4 | Colombo (RPS) | February 15, 2026 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 3 | Ahmedabad | February 18, 2026 |
Abhishek has registered five ducks in eight T20I matches for India in 2026. He now equals Sanju Samson’s unwanted record of scoring most ducks for India in a calendar year in T20Is. Samson scored five ducks in 13 T20Is for India in 2024.
Most ducks for India in a calendar year in T20Is
| BATTER | MATCHES | DUCKS | YEAR |
| Abhishek Sharma | 8 | 5 | 2026 |
| Sanju Samson | 13 | 5 | 2024 |
| Yusuf Pathan | 10 | 3 | 2009 |
| Rohit Sharma | 19 | 3 | 2018 |
| Rohit Sharma | 29 | 3 | 2022 |
| Virat Kohli | 10 | 3 | 2024 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 21 | 3 | 2025 |
The world record for scoring the most ducks in a calendar year in T20Is is in the name of Pakistan’s Saim Ayub. Ayub got out for a score of 0 in seven T20Is for Pakistan last year (in 2025). Rwanda’s Orchide Tuyisenge and Zappy Bimenyimana also registered seven ducks each in 2023.
