Top 20 Players with Most Ducks in IPL History (2008–2026)

Getting out for a duck is one of the most dreaded moments for any batter. In the IPL, where every ball carries enormous pressure and expectations, even the biggest names have walked back without troubling the scorers. From explosive openers to tail-end specialists, nobody is truly immune.

As of the end of IPL 2025, Glenn Maxwell holds the unwanted record outright with 19 ducks in his IPL career, followed closely by Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma with 18 each.

This article covers the top 20 players with the most ducks in IPL history, including their match count, innings, total runs, and what their duck tallies really say about their careers.

Quick Overview: Top 20 Most Ducks in IPL (2008–2025)

Before getting into the player-by-player breakdown, here’s the complete table of the top 20.

1. Glenn Maxwell, 19 Ducks (DC, MI, KXIP/PBKS, RCB)

Glenn Maxwell sits alone at the top of this list. The Australian all-rounder plays one way in the IPL, all-out attack from ball one. That fearless approach has produced some of the most devastating comebacks in the tournament’s history, but it has also led to 19 occasions where it simply didn’t come off.

Maxwell’s duck tally is particularly notable because he bats in the top and middle order, not in the tail. During IPL 2025, he went past the joint record he shared with Dinesh Karthik to claim this record outright. His high-risk style means he either impacts the game immediately or perishes trying. There’s rarely an in-between.

Despite the record, Maxwell has been one of the most sought-after overseas players in IPL auction history. Teams keep buying him because on his day, he can single-handedly win matches.

2. Dinesh Karthik, 18 Ducks (DC/GL/KKR/KXIP/MI/RCB)

Dinesh Karthik has been part of the IPL since the very first season in 2008. Playing for six different franchises over 17 seasons is a testament to his longevity, but it also means he’s had more opportunities than most to be dismissed early.

Karthik’s role shifted significantly over the years. He went from being a top-order batsman to a specialist finisher, particularly during his time at KKR and later at RCB. As a finisher, he often walked in with very few overs remaining and was expected to hit from ball one, a situation that naturally produces more ducks. His 18 ducks came across 234 innings, giving him a duck percentage of roughly 7.7%.

He retired from IPL cricket after the 2024 season, leaving behind a career total of 4,842 runs and one of the most iconic IPL moments ever, that last-ball six against Bangladesh in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, which, while not an IPL event, defined his finisher reputation.

3. Rohit Sharma, 18 Ducks (DCH/MI)

Rohit Sharma is the third-highest run-scorer in IPL history with over 7,000 runs. He also has the joint second-most ducks. That’s not a contradiction; it’s the reality of opening the batting in 267 IPL innings.

Openers face the new ball when it’s doing the most. They face the opposition’s best bowlers with a hard, swinging ball and aggressive field placements. Over 17 seasons, Rohit has occasionally been caught out early, particularly against quality pace in the powerplay.

His 18 ducks across 267 innings translate to a duck percentage of about 6.7%, which is actually lower than Maxwell’s rate. He equalled the record during IPL 2025 when he was dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed for a four-ball duck in the Mumbai Indians’ opening match against CSK.

For context, Rohit has also hit 2 centuries and 43 fifties in the IPL, captained MI to a record 5 titles, and is the second-most capped player in tournament history.

4. Sunil Narine, 17 Ducks (KKR)

Sunil Narine is primarily a mystery spinner, and for the first half of his IPL career, batting was barely part of his job description. That changed when KKR started sending him up as an opener, a tactic that worked spectacularly well in several seasons.

The problem is that Narine’s opening-batting approach is binary. He either connects and scores at an absurd pace or he misses and walks back. Of his 122 innings, 17 have been ducks, that’s a duck percentage of nearly 14%, the highest among the top 10 on this list.

But the trade-off has been worth it for KKR. In IPL 2024, Narine scored his maiden T20 century (109 off 56 balls) while opening, proving that the gamble can pay off handsomely.

5. Piyush Chawla, 16 Ducks (CSK/KKR/KXIP/MI)

Piyush Chawla is a leg-spin bowler who has been part of the IPL since its inaugural season. His 16 ducks have come in just 92 innings, giving him a duck percentage of 17.4%, comfortably the worst ratio in the top 20.

Chawla typically bats at No. 8 or lower, where innings can be short and unpredictable. Tail-enders are often asked to either block or slog, and neither strategy is particularly reliable when you’re facing death-overs bowling. His career total of 624 runs with a highest score of just 24* tells the story of someone whose batting was never the reason he was in the team.

His bowling, however, earned him over 190 IPL appearances, a number many specialist batters would envy.

6. Rashid Khan, 16 Ducks (GT/SRH)

Rashid Khan is one of the greatest T20 bowlers of all time. His batting, though, is a different story. With 16 ducks in just 68 innings, his duck percentage of 23.5% is by far the highest among the top 20. Nearly one in four of his innings ends without a run scored.

What makes Rashid’s entry unusual is that he has shown he can bat. His unbeaten 79 off 31 balls for SRH in 2020 is one of the most explosive lower-order knocks in IPL history. But that innings was an outlier. Rashid typically bats between No. 7 and No. 9, faces bowlers in the death overs, and his primary value will always be his 4 overs of leg-spin.

He also holds the record for the most golden ducks in IPL history, having been dismissed off the first ball faced on numerous occasions.

7. Mandeep Singh, 15 Ducks (DC/KKR/KXIP/PBKS/RCB)

Mandeep Singh is a classic case of a talented batter who never quite found a permanent role in any IPL side. Over 111 matches across four franchises, he shuffled between opening, the middle order, and occasionally the lower middle order.

That constant role change likely contributed to his 15 ducks. A batter who doesn’t know whether he’ll bat at No. 1 or No. 5 in any given match has a harder time finding rhythm. His 1,706 career runs show he was capable, but 15 zeros in 98 innings (a 15.3% duck rate) highlight the struggles.

8. Ambati Rayudu, 14 Ducks (CSK/MI)

Ambati Rayudu was a cornerstone of both the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings at various points in his career. With over 4,300 IPL runs and a century to his name, his 14 ducks are the flip side of a long and largely productive career.

Rayudu typically batted at No. 3 or No. 4, a position where you sometimes walk in during the first over after an early wicket falls. That meant facing the new ball without any rhythm, which contributed to a few of those dismissals.

His duck percentage of 7.5% across 187 innings is entirely reasonable for a middle-order batter across 200+ matches.

9. Manish Pandey, 14 Ducks (DC/KKR/LSG/MI/PWI/RCB/SRH)

Manish Pandey made IPL history in 2009 when he became the first Indian to score a century in the tournament. He was also the Player of the Match in the 2014 IPL final for KKR.

Despite these highlights, Pandey’s IPL career was often marked by inconsistency. His 14 ducks across 162 innings came from a tendency to take a cautious approach initially, which occasionally backfired. In a format that rewards aggression, his more measured style sometimes led to awkward dismissals early on.

10. Harbhajan Singh, 13 Ducks (CSK/KKR/MI)

Harbhajan Singh was one of India’s greatest off-spinners, but his batting in the IPL was always secondary. Across 163 matches, he only batted in 90 innings, and 13 of those ended in ducks.

His duck percentage of 14.4% reflects his role as a lower-order batter. That said, Bhajji was no mug with the bat; his career-best of 64 and a strike rate of 137.91 show he could contribute when needed. He was part of title-winning squads at MI (2013, 2015) and CSK (2018), where his bowling was the primary contribution.

11. Parthiv Patel, 13 Ducks (CSK/DCH/Kochi/MI/RCB/SRH)

The former India wicketkeeper-batter was one of the most well-travelled players in IPL history, representing six different franchises. Parthiv primarily opened the batting and scored 2,848 runs with 13 fifties. His 13 ducks across 137 innings give a duck rate of about 9.5%.

As an opener, Parthiv regularly faced the most challenging bowling conditions in the powerplay, which explains a fair share of those early dismissals.

12. Ajinkya Rahane, 13 Ducks (CSK/DC/KKR/MI/RPS/RR)

Ajinkya Rahane has been part of the IPL since 2008 and has accumulated over 5,000 runs, including 2 centuries and 30 fifties. His 13 ducks over 183 innings give him a modest duck rate of 7.1%.

Rahane’s style is more classical than explosive. In the T20 format, that approach sometimes means getting stuck early on flat pitches and falling to deliveries that a more aggressive batter might have dispatched. But his overall consistency, 5,032 runs at a 30+ average, far outweighs the occasional zero.

13. Ravichandran Ashwin, 12 Ducks (CSK/DC/KXIP/RPS/RR)

R. Ashwin has played 221 IPL matches, making him one of the most experienced players in the tournament’s history. As a specialist spinner who typically bats between No. 7 and No. 9, his 12 ducks in 98 innings (12.2% duck rate) are unsurprising.

Ashwin has occasionally shown he can bat; his highest score of 50 proves that, but his value lies in his bowling, captaincy acumen, and tactical intelligence on the field.

14. Gautam Gambhir, 12 Ducks (DC/KKR)

Gautam Gambhir led KKR to two IPL titles (2012 and 2014) and was one of the most reliable top-order batters in the tournament’s first decade. His 12 ducks across 152 innings (7.9% duck rate) are a product of opening the batting for the majority of his career.

What stands out is that Gambhir never scored an IPL century despite over 4,200 runs, a unique stat that speaks to his steady-accumulator style. His highest score of 93 is the closest he came.

15. Sanju Samson, 11 Ducks (DC/RR)

Sanju Samson is one of the most exciting batters in IPL history. His 11 ducks across 172 innings is a relatively low rate (6.4%) for someone who has batted in the top 4 for most of his career.

Samson’s approach is aggressive and unorthodox, and while that has produced breathtaking knocks, including a 119 against PBKS, it also means the occasional early departure. He captained Rajasthan Royals for several seasons before being traded to CSK ahead of IPL 2026.

16. Shikhar Dhawan, 11 Ducks (DC/DCH/MI/PBKS/SRH)

Shikhar Dhawan is the fourth-highest run-scorer in IPL history with 6,769 runs. His 11 ducks across 221 innings represent a duck rate of just 5.0%, one of the best ratios on this entire list.

As an opener for the majority of his career, Dhawan was remarkably consistent. His left-handed elegance made him one of the most watchable batters in the tournament. Dhawan retired from professional cricket in 2024 after a distinguished career.

17. David Warner, 11 Ducks (DC/SRH)

David Warner’s IPL career is legendary, with 6,565 runs, an Orange Cap, and an IPL title with SRH in 2016. His 11 ducks across 184 innings (6.0% duck rate) are a minor footnote in an otherwise remarkable record.

Warner is the highest-scoring overseas batter in IPL history. As an aggressive opener, the occasional failure against high-quality new-ball bowling is inevitable over nearly 200 matches. His duck count simply reflects longevity.

18. Amit Mishra, 10 Ducks (DC/DCH/LSG/SRH)

Amit Mishra is one of the leading wicket-takers in IPL history, and his batting stats reflect that bowling has always been his primary job. With 10 ducks in 57 innings (17.5% duck rate), he has one of the highest ratios on this list.

Mishra typically batted at No. 9 or lower. His total of 381 runs and highest score of 31 confirm that he was never expected to contribute significantly with the bat. The 10 ducks are simply a by-product of nearly 160 matches spent as a frontline leg-spinner.

19. Suryakumar Yadav, 10 Ducks (KKR/MI)

Suryakumar Yadav, or SKY as fans call him, has become one of the most dynamic T20 batters in the world. His 10 ducks across 151 innings (6.6% duck rate) are well within the normal range for a batter of his calibre and longevity.

SKY typically bats at No. 3 or No. 4, where the match situation can sometimes force risky shots early. His 360-degree batting ability is the reason MI and India have invested so heavily in him, and 10 ducks across 166 matches is a small price for 4,300+ runs.

20. AB de Villiers, 10 Ducks (DC/RCB)

AB de Villiers, who represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils between 2008 and 2021, remains one of the most impactful batters in Indian Premier League history. Across 184 matches and 170 innings, he scored 5,162 runs and finished unbeaten on 40 occasions, highlighting his ability to anchor and finish games. With a highest score of 133* and countless match-winning knocks, de Villiers built a reputation as one of the league’s most destructive and reliable middle-order batters. 

His long career, consistent run-scoring, and frequent not-outs underline why he features even at the bottom end of longevity-based statistical lists; his presence there is less about failures and more about the sheer number of innings he played while maintaining elite performance levels.

Key Patterns and Insights from the Most Ducks List

A few interesting trends emerge from the data.

Longevity is the biggest factor. Most players on this list have played 150+ IPL matches. The more you play, the more ducks you accumulate. Kohli (267 matches), Rohit (272 matches), and Karthik (257 matches) are all IPL veterans with massive careers. Their duck counts are a function of volume, not inability.

Bowlers and lower-order batters have the worst duck percentages. Rashid Khan (23.5%), Piyush Chawla (17.4%), and Amit Mishra (17.5%) all bat in the lower order, where the pressure to either slog or survive leaves little room for building an innings.

Openers dominate the list in raw numbers. Rohit, Narine, Dhawan, Warner, Gambhir, and Rahane all primarily opened the batting. The new ball in T20 cricket can be unforgiving, and a momentary lapse in the first over often results in a walk back to the pavilion.

Duck percentage matters more than duck count. Virat Kohli’s 10 ducks in 259 innings (3.9%) is far more impressive than Rashid Khan’s 16 ducks in 68 innings (23.5%). The raw number doesn’t tell the full story without innings context.

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Conclusion: Glenn Maxwell Holds The Unwanted Record With The Highest 19 Ducks

The most ducks in the IPL list is not a hall of shame. It’s mostly a hall of longevity. The 20 players above have played a combined 3,700+ IPL matches and scored well over 80,000 runs. They include 5 IPL-winning captains, multiple Orange Cap winners, and some of the greatest cricketers to have played the game.

Getting out for a duck is an inevitable part of cricket, especially in a format as high-pressure as the IPL. The players who top this list are the same ones who have entertained millions over 17 seasons. Every duck is simply the price of admission for showing up, taking the strike, and trying to win the game.

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