Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s former Test captain, continued his poor Test form recently with a duck in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh.
The 36-year-old, who has been a fixture in Pakistan’s top three in Test cricket for the past decade, has joined an unwelcome list of Test cricketers. Azhar now has the third-highest number of ducks among the top three players in Test cricket history. This was Azhar’s 17th duck in Test cricket while batting in the top three, and his 18th overall.
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Former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu and former England captain Mike Atherton are the only two players to have more ducks while batting in the top three. While batting in the top three, Atapattu also has 17 ducks to his name, but it took him fewer innings to reach the unfavorable mark. Atherton, on the other hand, tops the list with 20 ducks. Azhar, widely regarded as one of the best Pakistani batters in Test history, has had a stellar Test career since making his debut in 2010. The veteran batter, on the other hand, has been unable to deliver consistent performances in recent times, putting his place in the lineup under scrutiny. In the eight Tests he has played so far in 2021, the experienced top-order batter has scored 469 runs at an average of 39.08. Despite scoring two half-centuries and one century during this time, he was dismissed three times for a duck.
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