Bad to worse! Abhishek Sharma joins unfortunate club with third consecutive duck in 2026 T20 World Cup

Bad to worse! Abhishek Sharma joins unfortunate club with third consecutive duck in 2026 T20 World Cup

Bad to worse! Abhishek Sharma joins unfortunate club with third consecutive duck in 2026 T20 World Cup Photograph: (AFP)

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Having been dismissed for a golden duck against the USA, Abhishek Sharma had to skip the Namibia clash due to health issues. However, his return to the Indian team in the Pakistan match did not go according to plan as he was dismissed for a four-ball duck.

Abhishek Sharma’s dismal 2026 T20 World Cup went from bad to worse as the Indian opener was dismissed for a third consecutive duck. Playing against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (Feb 18), Abhishek was dismissed for a duck, meaning he is yet to score a single run in the T20 World Cup 2026. His form comes as a huge concern for the Indian team as they will be playing in the Super 8 stage of the tournament starting Sunday.

Abhishek fails again

Having been dismissed for a golden duck against the USA, Abhishek had to skip the Namibia clash due to health issues. However, his return to the Indian team in the Pakistan match did not go according to plan as he was dismissed for a four-ball duck. But the worst was yet to come as he was dismissed for another duck on Wednesday. This meant he joined the unfortunate club with a hat-trick of ducks on the international stage.

Interestingly, it was also Abhishek’s fourth duck in seven T20I innings, recounting his bad run of form.

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Most consecutive ducks in Men’s T20 WC

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What happened in India’s innings?

Batting first, Abhishek’s torrid form saw him being dismissed for a duck on the third ball of the innings. However, Tilak Varma (31) and Ishan Kishan (18) steadied the ship with a 39-run stand for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed in the fifth over. Varma and Suryakumar Yadav (34) then stitched 30 runs for the third wicket before the former was dismissed, with Shivam Dube coming in.

Dube took the initiative into his own hands and smashed a quickfire 66 off 31 deliveries. His innings consisted of 6 sixes and 4 fours and scored with a strike rate of more than 200. Alongside Dube, Hardik Pandya also smashed 30 off 21, helping India score 193/6 in their 20 overs.

About the Author

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More