Abhishek Sharma surpasses Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson for most T20 ducks in a calendar year; ‘Like an ON & OFF button’

Abhishek Sharma registered an unwanted record on Monday after the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter was dismissed for a first-ball duck against Rajasthan Royals during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at home. In the process, the left-hander became the first Indian to register seven ducks in T20 cricket in a calendar year.

Abhishek surpassed seniors Rohit Sharma (2018) and Sanju Samson (2024), who held the record previously with six scores of zero in a single calendar year. Abhishek's seven ducks in T20s in 2026 came in his 18th innings. Australian batter Cooper Connolly, who is currently playing for Punjab Kings in IPL 2026, is next with four ducks in 17 innings.

The incident took place on the very first ball that Jofra Archer bowled after Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag won the toss and opted to bowl. The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener danced down the track and slashed the delivery away from his body. The ball took a thick edge and went straight to Ravi Bishnoi, who was stationed at deep third man.

Certainly, the dismissal didn't go well with the Sunrisers Hyderabad fans, who lashed out at the 25-year-old. “It’s like an ON & OFF button by match,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "2 ducks for Abhishek in this IPL season - Last 5 matches," another said. He had scored a duck against Lucknow Super Giants earlier in the tournament this year.

Most ducks in a calendar year by an Indian in T20s

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals made two changes from the previous game. While South African batter Lhuan Dre Pretorious is making his IPL debut for the franchise, replacing Shimron Hetmyer, Brijesh Sharma made way for Tushar Deshpande. Sunrisers Hyderabad also brought in Praful Hinge in place of veteran Jaydev Unadkat.

The Ishan Kishan-led Sunrisers Hyderabad, who lost their previous clash against Punjab Kings, will be eyeing their second win of the season, having lost three of their four matches so far. On the other hand, an in-form Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals would be aiming to make it five wins in a row.

Abhishek Sharma's T20 ducks in 2026

SRH vs RR playing XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, and Eshan Malinga

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, and Tushar Deshpande

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