Pakistan’s opening batter Abdullah Shafique set an unfortunate record on Sunday, December 22, becoming the first player in ODI history to not score a single run in an entire series. Shafique opened in all three matches of Pakistan’s recent series against South Africa but failed to score in any of them.
In the first match at Boland Park, Paarl, on December 17, Abdullah Shafique was dismissed for a four-ball duck. In the second match at Newlands, Cape Town, on December 19, he fell for a two-ball naught, caught behind off Marco Jansen. Despite back-to-back failures, he retained his spot for the third game at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, where Kagiso Rabada dismissed him for a golden duck.
This marked Shafique’s seventh duck of 2024, making him the first Pakistani opener to achieve this dubious feat in a calendar year. He surpassed the previous record of six ducks held by Imran Nazir (2000) and Mohammad Hafeez (2012). Nazir and Hafeez, however, reached their totals over 32 innings, whereas Shafique’s record came in fewer matches.
Globally, the record for most ducks in a calendar year by an opening batter is eight, shared by South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs (2002) and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (2012). Abdullah Shafique now stands just one duck away from equaling this unwanted milestone. At 25, the Sialkot-born cricketer faces increasing scrutiny and pressure to turn his form around for Pakistan.
