Pakistan’s opening batsman Abdullah Shafique added an unwanted chapter to his cricket career during the third ODI match against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Shafique became only the sixth Pakistani cricketer to register three consecutive ducks in the fifty format.
In the opening ODI of the series, the 25-year-old was dismissed for a duck off the fourth delivery, and in the second ODI, he was dismissed for a duck off the second ball.
The list of Pakistan players with this dubious record also includes former cricketers like Shoaib Mohammad, Shadab Kabir, Mohammad Wasim, Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt.
| Player | Ducks | Year |
| Shoaib Mohammed | 3 | 1993 |
| Shadab Kabir | 3 | 1996 |
| Mohammed Wasim | 3 | 2000 |
| Shoaib Malik | 3 | 2004 |
| Salman Ass | 3 | 2010 |
| Abdullah Shafique | 3 | 2024 |
Notably, this unwanted record extends beyond Pakistan.
International cricket legends like India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Australia’s Ricky Ponting are also among the players who have faced the ignominy of three consecutive ducks in ODIs.
Furthermore, the right-handed batsman set another record in 2024 by surpassing the likes of Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez for the most number of international ducks in a calendar year.
With seven ducks so far in 2024, Shafique has surpassed Nazir (6 ducks in 32 innings in 2000) and Hafeez (6 ducks in 43 innings in 2012). Remarkably, he accomplished that feat in just 21 innings this year.
Meanwhile, the record for most consecutive ducks in international ODI cricket history is held by five players, including former West Indies legend AL Logie, Sri Lanka GP Wickramasinghe, England’s Cameron White, Zimbabwe’s Henry Olonga and Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka, who scored four consecutive ducks.
The world record for most international ducks in a calendar year by an opening is 8, held jointly by Herschelle Gibbs (from 51 entries in 2002) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (from 56 entries in 2012).
