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Saim Ayub opened the innings for Pakistan on Wednesday against UAE but got out for a two-ball duck. He has failed to open his account in five out of 17 T20Is played this year.
Saim Ayub equals Sanju Samson’s record of most ducks in a calendar year in T20Is. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Saim Ayub is playing as an opening batter for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, and on Wednesday, September 17, the young left-handed batter joined Sanju Samson on an unwanted list. Saim, for the third Asia Cup 2025 match in a row, failed to open his account. He got out for a two-ball duck on Wednesday in Dubai against the United Arab Emirates. The duck against the UAE is Ayub’s fifth zero score in T20Is this year. He has now equalled Samson’s record of five ducks in a calendar year.
Samson, who is India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in T20Is, played 13 T20Is in 2024, and on five occasions he even failed to open his account.
The overall record of scoring the most ducks in T20Is in a calendar year is in the name of Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava. In 2024, Ngarava played 20 T20Is for Zimbabwe, and he got out for a duck in six matches.
Most ducks in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | TEAM | DUCKS | YEAR |
| Richard Ngarava | Zimbabwe | 6 | 2024 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Zimbabwe | 5 | 2024 |
| Regis Chakabva | Zimbabwe | 5 | 2022 |
| Sanju Samson | India | 5 | 2024 |
| Saim Ayub | Pakistan | 5 | 2025 |
| Hassan Nawaz | Pakistan | 5 | 2025 |
In the Asia Cup 2025, Saim got out for a golden duck against Oman in Dubai on September 12, and on September 14, in the high-voltage Group A match between India and Pakistan, Saim got out for a golden duck once again. He was caught by Jasprit Bumrah on the first legitimate delivery of the match bowled by Hardik Pandya.
In the list of batters with most back-to-back ducks in T20Is, Saim is now only behind teammate Abdullah Shafique. Shafique scored four zeroes in a row for Pakistan in T20Is.
Most back-to-back ducks in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | BACK-TO-BACK DUCKS |
| Abdullah Shafique | Pakistan | 4 |
| Anas Khan | Hong Kong | 4 |
| Zafer Durmaz | Turkey | 4 |
| Ouattara Djakaridja | Ivory Coast | 4 |
| Saim Ayub | Pakistan | 3 |
| Ouattara Djakaridja | Scotland | 3 |
| Andre Fletcher | West Indies | 3 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | Pakistan | 3 |
| Kyle Jarvis | Zimbabwe | 3 |
| Moeen Ali | England | 3 |
| Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka | 3 |
| Luke Ronchi | New Zealand/World XI | 3 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Zimbabwe | 3 |
| Lizaad Williams | South Africa | 3 |
In the list of batters with the most ducks in T20Is for Pakistan, Saim now only trails Umar Akmal. Umar played 84 T20Is for Men in Green from 2009 to 2019 and scored 10 ducks, whereas Saim has eight ducks to his credit in 44 matches.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
September 17, 2025, 21:42 IST
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