5 batters with the most ducks in IPL history
No batter wants to get out, let alone get out without any contribution to the scoreboard. It's quite embarrassing for a batter to register a duck, and when it becomes too frequent, then the batter's abilities are under immense scrutiny.
It's true for T20 cricket and the IPL as well. There are many instances when a player got out without adding anything to his name on the scoreboard.
This may have many factors affecting it - a peach of a delivery from a bowler, a false shot by the batter in his initial stay at the crease, arriving at the crease against their respective negative match-ups, etc.
That's why you would see that some players breathe a sigh of relief when they score their first run of the match.
On that note, we will be discussing the players who have registered the most ducks in IPL history.
#5 Ambati Rayudu - 14 ducks
The veteran batter, who is currently representing the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023, is fifth on the list with 14 ducks in 183 innings until the 49th match of IPL 2023.
Given the role of middle-over enforcer in his IPL career, Ambati Rayudu mostly finds himself in a position where he has to go berserk from the first ball, which sometimes leads him to lose his wicket early on.
#4 Dinesh Karthik - 15 ducks
Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Dinesh Karthik, who has reinvented his pace game and has been constantly finishing matches for his team, gets second place on the unwanted list in IPL with 15 ducks in 217 innings.
Karthik mostly finds himself batting in the end overs, where he usually gets eight to 10 balls on average to maximize the team's score. As a result, there's a great possibility of him getting out cheaply.
Also, if he comes to the crease early, opposite teams look to target Karthik's weakness against spinners, which has also resulted in him getting out on ducks.
#3 Mandeep Singh - 15 ducks
The right-hand batter from Punjab makes it to the third spot on this list, having scored 15 ducks in the 111 IPL innings he has played.
Mandeep Singh has never got regular chances in the playing XI except at Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he was given the role of finishing matches at No. 5 or 6.
Mandeep always looks to play an attacking brand of cricket, which results in him getting out without scoring more often than not.
#2 Sunil Narine - 15 ducks
Sunil Narine, who was promoted to Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) opening slot during Gautam Gambhir's captaincy days in order to maximize the powerplay restrictions, has also registered 15 ducks in his 158 IPL innings so far.
With early success in that role, bowlers started to find Narine's weakness against short deliveries and hard length, which resulted in him getting dismissed for naught post-IPL 2017.
#1 Rohit Sharma - 16 ducks
Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma, after giving a catch at gully against their arch-rivals, the Chennai Super Kings, finds himself topping the chart with 16 ducks in 232 IPL innings.
A batter of his caliber getting out without scoring so many times is quite baffling and hard to believe.
On most occasions, rival teams look to counter his weakness against left-arm fast bowlers, who get Rohit out more often than not.