Zero and Abhishek Sharma seem to be an inseparable story. After encountering three back-to-back ducks in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026, the southpaw registered yet another unique feat, this time in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Sharma registered his first-ever golden duck in the IPL in the game against the Rajasthan Royals on Monday, his 7th zero in this year already!
Unwanted record for Abhishek Sharma
Jofra Archer got the better of Abhishek right off his first delivery as the batter was caught out near the boundary ropes by Ravi Bishnoi while going for his conventional big hit right off the first delivery of the game between SRH and RR. This marks his first golden duck in the IPL. Before this, he had six ducks to his name – two against New Zealand in January, three in the T20 WC, one vs LSG, and now against RR.
| Runs | BF | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | v New Zealand |
| 0 | 1 | v New Zealand |
| 0 | 1 | v U.S.A. |
| 0 | 4 | v Pakistan |
| 0 | 3 | v Netherlands |
| 0 | 2 | v LSG |
| 0 | 1 | v RR |
Overall, Abhishek Sharma has 16 ducks in T20 cricket. His over-aggressive approach of going after bowlers right in the first delivery has been widely criticised in the past. But, he seems to have learnt no lesson so far. He has been dismissed for 4 golden ducks so far this year, 2 against New Zealand, one against the USA in the T20 WC, and then against RR on April 13.
Most ducks in a calendar year in T20s
Sharma has registered another unwanted record to his name by having the most ducks in a calendar year for an Indian. He tops the list with 7 0s in 2026, followed by Rohit Sharma’s 6 in 2018, and Sanju Samson’s six in 2024.
| Player | Year | Ducks (T20s) |
|---|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | 2026 | 7 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2018 | 6 |
| Sanju Samson | 2024 | 6 |
Known to be an aggressive batter right from his debut, Abhishek has 1945 runs from 82 IPL matches, boasting a strike rate of 165.67. Despite having a prolific record before the T20 WC 2026, he was a complete letdown in the marquee event. After registering three consecutive ducks, Abhishek’s only effective contribution came in the Super 8 tie vs ZIM, where he scored 55 runs. While there were murmurs about dropping him for the final, the team management decided to back him and it paid off. Sharma broke free from the shackles of poor form and delivered when it mattered the most with a 52-run knock in the final.
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