From Muttiah Muralitharan to Shane Warne, know the players with most ducks in international cricket

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan currently holds the record for the most ducks in international cricket.

The term ‘duck’ in cricket refers to a batter getting dismissed without scoring a single run in an innings.

Having made his international debut against Australia in a Test match in 1992, Muralitharan recorded a total of 59 ducks in his career.

The tailender was dismissed for a duck on 33 occasions in Test cricket and 25 times in ODIs and only once in T20I cricket.

Legendary West Indies cricketer Courtney Walsh features second on the list for the most ducks in international cricket.

The West Indies fast bowler recorded 54 ducks in international cricket. Interestingly, Walsh currently holds the record for the most ducks in Test cricket as he was dismissed on 43 occasions without disturbing the scoreboard. The other 11 times he was out for a zero was in one-day internationals (ODIs). 

Curiously, former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, a world-class batter during his playing days, features third in the list of players with the most ducks in international cricket. 

After making his international debut against Australia in 1989, Jayasuriya ended his career with 53 ducks to his name. Jayasuriya holds the record for the most ducks in ODIs, having failed to open his account 34 times in the 50-over format. The swashbuckling opener registered 15 ducks in Test cricket and four ducks in T20 format.

Former Australia cricketer Glenn McGrath and England fast bowler Stuart Broad have recorded 49 ducks each in international cricket.

While McGrath recorded 49 ducks in 376 matches, Broad accumulated the same number of ducks in 329 matches.

Interestingly, McGrath has been dismissed for a duck on 35 occasions in Tests while Broad has been dismissed 39 times for duck - the second most in the longest format.

Another former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene is sixth on the list. Jayawardene registered 47 ducks in his international career. While the middle-order batter recorded 28 ducks in ODI format, he registered 15 ducks in Tests and four ducks in the T20 format.

Former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori, Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram, India fast bowler Zaheer Khan and Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne complete the top 10 list for most ducks in international cricket. 

While Vettori ended his career with 46 ducks, Akram recorded 45 ducks in his international career. The Pakistani legend ended with the third-highest number of ducks in ODI cricket (28) while Vettori was dismissed without opening his account on 23 occasions in the 50-over format. 

On the other hand, Zaheer Khan and Shane Warne registered 44 ducks in international cricket. Warne recorded 34 ducks in Test cricket while Zaheer has 29 ducks in the longest format of the game. 

Among Indians, fast bowler Ishant Sharma has the most ducks in Test cricket (34) while Sachin Tendulkar has recorded the most ducks in ODI cricket (20). Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has recorded the most ducks in T20 format, having been dismissed seven times without opening his account. 

Most ducks in international cricket

Featured photo: PAUL ELLIS / AFP

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