In a disappointing turn of events for Indian cricket, star opener Abhishek Sharma has faced significant scrutiny after being dismissed for a duck in the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on February 15, 2026. This marks the second consecutive match where Sharma has failed to score, having also recorded a golden duck against the USA earlier in the tournament. His dismissal came off the last ball of the first over, bowled by Pakistan's captain Salman Ali Agha, who noted, "It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs". Sharma's performance has placed him in an unwanted historical context, as he becomes only the third player in T20 World Cup history to register back-to-back ducks in his first two games, joining the ranks of Ashish Nehra and Imrul Kayes (NDTV).