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Zero to Hero (and Back): The 'Duck' Hall of Fame — Who Tops the List for Most Scores of 0 in IPL History?
Virat Kohli’s rare failure against the Lucknow Supergiants sent shockwaves through the RCB fanbase. A precision strike from Prince Yadav shattered both the off and middle stumps, sending the legendary batsman back to the pavilion without opening his account. While this was Kohli’s first duck since 2023, it was the 11th time in his storied career that he fell for a zero.
But where does Kohli stand among the players who have struggled the most with the dreaded "duck"? Here is a look at the IPL’s most frequent visitors to the zero-run club.
The "Duck" Kings: 18 Times at Zero
The top of this unwanted leaderboard is currently shared by two titans of the game, though one reached the milestone slightly faster than the other.
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Dinesh Karthik: The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman holds the top spot, having been dismissed for 0 a record 18 times in 234 innings.
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Rohit Sharma: The "Hitman" also shares this record with 18 ducks, though it has come across a slightly longer span of 272 innings.
The Double-Digit Club
The list of players with 10 or more ducks features some of the biggest names in Indian cricket, proving that even the best can have an off day.
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Piyush Chawla: 16 ducks
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Mandeep Singh: 15 ducks
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Manish Pandey & Ambati Rayudu: 14 ducks each
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Harbhajan Singh & Parthiv Patel: 13 ducks each
The "Unlucky 11" and Beyond
Virat Kohli recently joined a specific bracket of players who have found themselves walking back for zero on 11 or 12 occasions.
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12 Ducks: R Ashwin and former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir.
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11 Ducks: Alongside Virat Kohli, this group includes explosive hitters like Ishan Kishan, Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson, and Suryakumar Yadav.
IPL’s Most Frequent Ducks: A Snapshot
| Player | Total Ducks (0s) |
| Dinesh Karthik | 18 |
| Rohit Sharma | 18 |
| Piyush Chawla | 16 |
| Mandeep Singh | 15 |
| Manish Pandey | 14 |
| Virat Kohli | 11 |
The Bottom Line
In a format as high-octane as the IPL, risks are part of the game. While a score of zero is a tough pill to swallow—especially in a match like RCB's recent 9-run loss—the names on this list prove that longevity in the league often comes with a few low points. For Kohli, his 11 ducks are a small footnote in a career defined by thousands of runs, but for Rohit and Karthik, the race to avoid duck number 19 is officially on!
