World No. 1 batter Abhishek Sharma recorded his sixth T20 duck of 2026 during SRH’s IPL clash against LSG, joining Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson in an unwanted record for most ducks in a calendar year.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma
World No. 1 batter Abhishek Sharma has joined a list no one wants to be on, and it’s not a flattering one.
Another game, another struggle at the top for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) opener, as Abhishek was dismissed for a two-ball duck against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their IPL 2026 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
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Mohammed Shami struck early to send him back, marking Abhishek’s sixth duck of the year in T20 cricket. With this, he finds himself alongside Rohit Sharma (2018) and Sanju Samson (2024) for the most ducks by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20s.
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It’s a stark contrast to his explosive reputation. So far in IPL 2026, Abhishek has managed just 55 runs in three innings, with 48 of them coming in a single knock against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Even his World No. 1 T20 ranking hasn’t shielded him from inconsistency. At the T20 World Cup, he scored 141 runs in eight innings, including two half-centuries, but also endured a forgettable start with three ducks in a row before recovering later.
Zooming out, his 2026 T20 numbers tell a mixed story: 378 runs in 16 innings at an average of 25.20 and a strike rate above 195, including four fifties and a top score of 84.
Explosive? Yes. Reliable? Not quite this season.
In the match, LSG chose to bowl first after winning the toss. SRH, led by stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan, made a couple of changes, bringing in Harshal Patel and Liam Livingstone, while LSG replaced Anrich Nortje with Manimaran Siddharth.
LSG are still hunting their first win of the season after a loss to Delhi Capitals, while SRH came in with one win and one defeat, having bounced back against Kolkata Knight Riders after losing their opener to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
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