Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir had a terrible start to IPL 2014. Well-aware of Gambhir’s form during the UAE leg of the seventh season of the biggest T20 league in the world, former pacer Ashish Nehra considered it as a perfect opportunity of trolling a comparatively younger player from Delhi.
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Having appeared on a recent podcast conducted by ANI, Gambhir revealed that Nehra, who was playing for Chennai Super Kings at the time, was also staying in the same hotel. Since all the eight teams were playing across three cities in the UAE, more than one team residing in the same hotel is totally understood.
With Kolkata Knight Riders captain scoring three ducks in a row in their first three matches of the season, Nehra suggested him to eat a duck to avoid an embarrassing fourth one without a break. Surprisingly, the trick worked for Gambhir but he managed all of a solitary run in his fourth match.
“Toh teen ducks banaaye uske baad hamara match tha I think Chennai se ya kisi se. Ashish Nehra was also there in the same hotel. Toh woh bola, ‘Chal niche dinner karte hai’. So, four or five of us, jo Delhi ke ladke hai, we were having dinner in the restaurant, hotel mein hi, Ritz-Carlton mein. Aise hi baithe hue the, toh he ordered Duck. Usne Duck order kari toh mujhe kehta hai, ‘Khaale’. Maine kaha, ‘I don’t eat Duck’. Kehta hai, ‘Yaha khaale nahin toh kal ek aur ban sakti hai‘ [After three ducks, our match was against Chennai or some other team. Ashish Nehra was also in the same hotel and he asked me for dinner. We were four or five of us from Delhi eating in a restaurant in Ritz-Carlton. Everyone was ordering something and Ashish ordered a Duck. He asked me to have it but I said, ‘I don’t eat Duck’. He then asked me to eat it here or else you I could score another duck tomorrow],” Gambhir told ANI.
Although Gambhir was confused with regard to KKR facing CSK the next day, it wasn’t the case as they had to play against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Abu Dhabi. In what was Gambhir’s fourth successive batting failure with the bat in hand, his team lost two out of their first four matches. That being said, Gambhir did manage to lead Knight Riders to their second title victory that year.
Perhaps disgraced by not scoring a single run across three innings, an insecure and scared Gambhir even wanted to drop himself but changed his mind at co-owner Shah Rukh Khan‘s behest. After failing in the first match of the Indian leg, Gambhir did improve his form by scoring three half-centuries in a row.
Most Ducks In IPL History
With 17 ducks to his name, veteran Royal Challengers Bangalore wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik holds the record of scoring most ducks in IPL history. Middle-order batter Karthik, who usually finds himself in a position to score quick runs from the word go, can put in the same as a justification behind this infamous record. Having said that, the name at the second position is quite astonishing.
Shockingly, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma follows Karthik with 16 ducks under his belt. One of the best batters’ in IPL history, Sharma is above the likes of Sunil Narine (15) and Mandeep Singh (15) in this list.
Only batter with 12 IPL ducks in front of his name, Gautam Gambhir is at the sixth position. Since three of them had come together in 2014, registering nine more across the remaining 151 matches isn’t poor per se.
Australian batter Ashton Turner is another such player who has scored three consecutive ducks in the cash-rich league. Playing for Rajasthan Royals in 2019, he failed to open his account against Punjab, Mumbai and Delhi Capitals (earlier Delhi Daredevils). Interestingly, including these three ducks, he bagged a total of five consecutive ducks in T20s – most consecutive by any batter in the format.
