2026 is proving to be full of ups and downs for India's star batsman Abhishek Sharma. Before the start of this year, Abhishek's bat, which was continuously explosive batting for about 20 months, is not supporting him this time. After the T20 World Cup, they are now facing problems in IPL 2026 also.

This unwanted record was registered in the name of Abhishek Sharma in the 21st match of IPL 2026 against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, 13 April. In this match between Sunrisers and Royals in Hyderabad, the host team was batting first. There was curiosity about this match also because Abhishek Sharma And the fans were going to get a chance to see the competition of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, whose explosive batting has created a stir at every level from IPL onwards.

This is the first time in 9 years of career

In this competition, Abhishek got a chance to present his claim first but he failed in it. Abhishek, who was starting the innings, played a high cut shot using his feet on the very first ball but he failed to cross the boundary and was caught at deep backward point. Rajasthan's star fast bowler Joffra Archer sent him back to the pavilion on the very first ball of the match.

WHAT.

A. START

Jofra Archer strikes first ball

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2026

Abhishek could not even open his account in this innings and became the victim of 'Golden Duck'. Abhishek, playing his 9th consecutive IPL season, was out on 0 for the fifth time. But this was the first time in his 79-innings IPL career, when he was out on a 'golden duck'. This is the second time in this season that he was out for zero, but last time he returned to the pavilion like this after playing two balls.

New record for highest number of 'ducks'

Not only this, within just 3 and a half months Abhishek broke an unwanted record of Sanju Samson and Rohit Sharma. This is Abhishek's 7th 'duck' in T20 cricket this year. Abhishek has batted in a total of 18 T20 innings in 2026, in which he has scored 5 half-centuries but has been out on 0 7 times. This is a new record for any Indian batsman being out on 0 for the most number of times in T20 in a year. Earlier, he was on par with Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson (both 6-6).