After Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars have become the second team to reach the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). While Rishad Hossain played a pivotal role in securing Lahore’s place in the final, fellow Bangladeshi star Shakib Al Hasan had a dismal outing, failing with both bat and ball and, in the process, setting an unfortunate record.
Until now, the record for the most ducks (zero runs) by a Bangladeshi batter in T20s was held by Soumya Sarkar. However, with back-to-back ducks in recent matches, Shakib has now surpassed Soumya. Shakib has been dismissed for a duck 32 times in T20 cricket, while Soumya follows with 31.
Shakib made his debut for Lahore Qalandars on May 18. It was a nightmare start, as he was bowled on the very first delivery he faced from Ahmed Daniyal. Frustrated, he almost hit the stumps with his bat. With the ball, he conceded 18 runs in 2 wicketless overs. In the following eliminator against Karachi Kings, Shakib bowled just one over, picking up a wicket for four runs, but didn’t get a chance to bat.
Since Shakib joined, every game for Lahore has been a must-win. They’ve now won three consecutive do-or-die matches to reach the final. In Friday’s second qualifier, Lahore faced Islamabad United. Batting first, they posted 202/8 in 20 overs — a score built without any contribution from Shakib. He faced just 2 balls before being caught out for zero off Tymal Mills. With the ball, he again failed to impress, going wicketless while conceding 27 runs in 3 overs.
Soumya Sarkar held the unwanted record of most T20 ducks by a Bangladeshi for a long time, but Shakib has now taken over, albeit via franchise cricket after retiring from T20 internationals. Globally, Shakib now ranks 8th on the all-time list for most ducks in T20 cricket, while Soumya is 9th. The top spot is held by West Indian all-rounder Sunil Narine, who has 48 ducks.
Several other big names are also high on this list of T20 ducks: Rashid Khan (45), Alex Hales (44), Glenn Maxwell (35), Rilee Rossouw (33), Paul Stirling (33), and Jason Roy (33).
Among Bangladeshi batters, Imrul Kayes has 22 T20 ducks, Tamim Iqbal 20, and Mushfiqur Rahim 19.
UA / TDS
