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The unwanted record of being dismissed without scoring is one every cricketer dreads, yet even legends of the game haven't escaped accumulating ducks throughout their careers. From master bowlers to explosive batsmen, the list of players with the most ducks reveals fascinating insights about cricket's unforgiving nature.
Overall International Cricket (All Formats Combined)
Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka holds the dubious distinction of recording the most ducks in international cricket history with 59 dismissals for zero. The legendary spinner, widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest bowlers with 800 Test wickets and over 1,300 international wickets, was dismissed without scoring 33 times in Tests, 25 times in ODIs, and once in T20Is. Despite his batting struggles, Muralitharan accumulated 1,936 career runs with a highest score of 67 and one fifty.?
Following Muralitharan, Courtney Walsh of the West Indies recorded 54 total ducks across formats, with 43 in Tests and 11 in ODIs. Walsh, who held the record for most Test wickets (519) from 2000 to 2004, was primarily a fast bowler whose batting never reached competence—he never scored a Test fifty, with a highest score of just 30 not out.?
Sanath Jayasuriya, another Sri Lankan cricket icon, accumulated 53 ducks in international cricket (15 in Tests, 34 in ODIs, and 4 in T20Is). Unlike the bowlers dominating this list, Jayasuriya was an explosive opening batsman who scored 21,032 international runs with 42 centuries and 103 fifties, including a highest Test score of 340. His duck count reflects his high-risk, aggressive batting style across 725 innings.?
Other prominent names in the overall standings include Glenn McGrath and Stuart Broad (49 ducks each), Mahela Jayawardene (47 ducks), Daniel Vettori (46 ducks), Wasim Akram and James Anderson (45 ducks each), and Zaheer Khan (44 ducks).?
Test Cricket Records
In cricket's longest format, Courtney Walsh remains the undisputed leader with 43 Test ducks from 185 innings across 132 matches between November 1984 and April 2001. This translates to one duck every 4.3 Test innings—a staggering ratio even for a lower-order bowler. The Guinness World Records officially recognizes this achievement.?
Stuart Broad of England sits second with 39 Test ducks from 232 innings across 159 matches. Unlike Walsh, Broad proved capable with the bat, scoring a Test century with a highest score of 169 and accumulating 13 fifties. His continued Test career meant he came closest to challenging Walsh's record before retiring in 2023.?
Chris Martin of New Zealand recorded 36 Test ducks from just 104 innings, giving him the worst ratio on the top-five list at one duck every 2.88 innings. Known as a "walking wicket" by opposition bowling units, Martin batted at number 11 and was considered one of the world's worst batsmen despite being a competent seam bowler.?
Glenn McGrath of Australia and Ishant Sharma of India complete the Test top five with 35 and 34 ducks respectively. McGrath's 35 ducks came from 138 Test matches, while Ishant accumulated 34 of his 40 total international ducks in the Test format.?
One-Day International (ODI) Records
Sanath Jayasuriya tops the ODI ducks list with 34 dismissals for zero from 433 innings across 445 ODI matches. For a destructive opener who scored 13,430 ODI runs with 28 centuries, his 34 ducks represent one scoreless dismissal every 12.73 innings—an acceptable ratio given his aggressive batting approach and longevity in the format.?
Shahid Afridi of Pakistan recorded 30 ODI ducks from 369 innings across 398 matches. Known as "Boom Boom" for his explosive hitting, Afridi's high-risk style meant frequent early dismissals, resulting in one duck every 12.3 ODI innings. Despite this, he amassed 8,064 ODI runs with 6 centuries.?
Wasim Akram and Mahela Jayawardene share third place with 28 ODI ducks each. Akram, Pakistan's legendary fast bowler, accumulated his ducks across 280 ODI innings (one duck per 10 innings). Jayawardene, an elegant Sri Lankan batsman who played 448 ODIs and scored 12,650 runs with 19 centuries, had the best duck-to-innings ratio among top-five ODI duck holders at one per 14.92 innings.?
Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka rounds out the top five with 26 ODI ducks from 119 batting innings across 226 matches. As a specialist bowler, his ratio of one duck per 4.57 innings reflects his lower-order batting position.?
Twenty20 International (T20I) Records
The T20I format shows different names leading the duck counts. MD Shanaka of Sri Lanka holds the unfortunate record with 14 T20I ducks from 103 innings across 114 matches between 2015 and 2025. Shanaka's most recent duck came during the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash against Pakistan, when he was trapped for a golden duck by Hussain Talat.?
Three players share second place with 13 T20I ducks each: K Irakoze of Rwanda (from 56 innings), Z Bimenyimana of Rwanda (from 58 innings), M Akayezu of Rwanda (from 79 innings), and Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh (from 86 innings). The presence of three Rwandan players in the top positions reflects the challenges newer cricketing nations face against stronger international bowling attacks.?
Paul Stirling of Ireland also recorded 13 T20I ducks, though from a more substantial 153 matches and 153 innings. Rohit Sharma of India, with 12 T20I ducks before his format retirement following the 2024 T20 World Cup, ranks among the top ten, jointly second among players from full-member nations.?
Earlier records mentioned three players tied at 10 T20I ducks each: Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, Umar Akmal of Pakistan, and Kevin O'Brien of Ireland. However, more recent data shows these numbers have been surpassed.?
Indian Players with Most Ducks
Among Indian cricketers, Zaheer Khan leads with 43 ducks across all international formats (29 in Tests, based on his career statistics). The left-arm fast bowler played 309 matches across all formats, with his dismissals primarily occurring in his role as a lower-order batsman.?
Virat Kohli now sits second among Indian players with 40 ducks as of October 2025. The batting maestro's duck count includes 15 in Tests, 16 in ODIs, and 7 in T20Is. Kohli registered back-to-back ODI ducks for the first time in his 304-match ODI career during the Australia tour in October 2025—first in Perth (his first-ever duck on Australian soil) and then in Adelaide. His 40th duck came in the second ODI at Adelaide when Xavier Bartlett trapped him LBW on his fourth delivery.?
Ishant Sharma also has 40 ducks across international cricket, with 34 coming in Test matches. The tall fast bowler accumulated these dismissals across a long career spanning multiple formats.?
Other prominent Indian players include Harbhajan Singh with 37 ducks, Jasprit Bumrah with 35 ducks, Anil Kumble with 35 ducks, Rohit Sharma with 33-34 ducks (varying by source timing), and Sachin Tendulkar with 34 ducks.?
Notable Context and Observations
The prevalence of bowlers at the top of these lists underscores an important reality: bowlers batting in lower-order positions face the most challenging circumstances—fresh bowlers, deteriorating pitch conditions, and pressure situations. Their primary role is taking wickets, not scoring runs, so accumulating ducks is almost expected.?
For specialist batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Shahid Afridi, and Virat Kohli appearing on these lists, context matters significantly. Their aggressive batting styles, long careers spanning hundreds of matches, and thousands of runs scored mean their duck-to-innings ratios remain respectable.?
Don Bradman's famous duck in his final Test innings in 1948 remains cricket's most significant individual duck. Bowled by Eric Hollies at The Oval, this dismissal dropped his Test average from a potential 101.39 to the final 99.94—just four runs short of a perfect century average.?
The T20I format, being relatively new and featuring more matches than Tests or ODIs, will likely see current records overtaken as more cricket is played. The presence of players from associate nations like Rwanda in the T20I top positions reflects both the format's global reach and the steep learning curve newer cricketing nations face.
