Muttiah Muralitharan, Courtney Walsh, and Sanath Jayasuriya are the only cricketers to have scored over 50 ducks in international cricket. Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan spin legend, holds the record with 59 ducks, comprising 33 in Tests, 25 in ODIs, and 1 in T20Is. Known for his bowling, Muralitharan’s tailender position led to frequent dismissals without scoring.
Courtney Walsh, the iconic West Indies fast bowler, follows with 54 ducks, with 43 of them in Tests, making him the record-holder for the most ducks in the format. The remaining 11 ducks came in ODIs. Surprisingly, former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, a renowned opener, occupies third place with 53 ducks. He recorded 34 ducks in ODIs, 15 in Tests, and 4 in T20Is.
Other notable players include Glenn McGrath and Stuart Broad, who both scored 49 ducks. McGrath was dismissed for a duck 35 times in Tests, while Broad faced 39 ducks, the second most in the format. Mahela Jayawardene follows with 47 ducks, and Daniel Vettori, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Khan, and Shane Warne complete the top 10 list.
Among Indians, Ishant Sharma holds the most Test ducks (34), Sachin Tendulkar has the most in ODIs (20), and Rohit Sharma leads in T20Is with 7 ducks.
Most ducks in international cricket
Player | Matches | Ducks |
Muttiah Muralitharan | 495 | 59 |
Courtney Walsh | 337 | 54 |
Sanath Jayasuriya | 586 | 53 |
Glenn McGrath | 376 | 49 |
Stuart Broad | 318 | 49 |
Mahela Jayawardene | 652 | 47 |
Daniel Vettori | 442 | 46 |
Wasim Akram | 460 | 45 |
Zaheer Khan | 309 | 44 |
Shane Warne | 339 | 44 |