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5 players with the maximum first-ball ducks in T20I cricket

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TM Dilshan

T20 international cricket has gained enormous popularity after ICC organized the first T20 World Cup in the year 2007. The Indian cricket team won the championship by defeating Pakistan in a closely contested final. Before the World Cup in South Africa, all nations treated the T20I format as an exhibition event.

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The fans who watched the first T20I between New Zealand and Australia on February 17, 2005 would have a clear idea of how the initial reception of this format was in global cricket. Nevertheless, every nation takes T20I format seriously now. Some countries even use specialists for this format.

Like the other formats, getting out on a duck, that on the first ball, is a disappointing outcome for any batsman. In this article, we will have a look at the five players with the most golden ducks in T20Is.

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5. Mohammad Hafeez – 4 ducks

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Mohammad Hafeez is one of the most capped players in T20I history. Hafeez has been an integral part of the Pakistan T20I team. In 2020, he was the highest run-scorer across all nations in T20I cricket.

Hafeez has worked very hard on his batting. However, not every day proves to be a good day on the field. Hafeez has played 94 T20I innings in his career, where he got out for a golden duck four times.

4. Mashrafe Mortaza – 5 ducks

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Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza majorly specialized in fast-bowling. While Mortaza was a right-arm pacer, he could also hit the ball hard in the slog overs.

Mortaza had batted higher up the order in the crucial T20 World Cup 2016 match against India, which highlights that the management knew about his batting skills. In 39 T20I innings for Bangladesh, Mashrafe recorded five golden ducks.

3. Shahid Afridi – 5 ducks

Shahid Afridi was the captain of the Pakistan cricket team during his active days. The all-rounder was famous for his big shots with the willow and right-arm leg-spin.

Afridi believed in attacking the bowlers right from ball one. As a result, Afridi lost his wicket on the first ball of his T20I innings five times in his career. Overall, Afridi recorded eight ducks in the game’s shortest format.

2. TM Dilshan – 5 ducks

Another Asian player to feature on this list is the former Sri Lankan cricket team captain TM Dilshan. The right-handed opener is a part of the Sri Lanka Legends team in the Road Safety World Series 2021.

Dilshan made the ‘Dil-Scoop’ shot famous by hitting the ball over the wicket-keeper’s head. Dilshan regularly opened the innings for Sri Lanka. In 80 T20I games, Dilshan registered ten ducks from which five were on the first ball of his innings.

1. Umar Akmal – 6 ducks

Umar Akmal
Photo: Umar Akmal/Instagram

The only player in T20I cricket history to have more than five golden ducks to his name is Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman Umar Akmal. Many fans would know Umar is the brother of Kamran Akmal.

Umar has represented the Pakistan cricket team in 84 T20I matches, where he has batted in 79 innings. The top-order batsman has an average of 26 in T20I cricket. Like Dilshan he has ten T20I ducks, but six of them were golden ducks.