Top 5: Prominent players who started their T20 career with a duck

#4 Mahela Jayawardena: Sri Lanka vs England, June 2006, Southampton

Jayawardena’s T20I debut saw him bag a golden duck

The former Sri Lankan batsman was a pretty good T20 player and finished with an average of 31.76 in the format which included a ton and nine half-centuries. For all his heroics in the format, Mahela Jayawardena started his career with a golden duck.

It was the only T20 in a tour of England for Sri Lanka. Most of the players were playing T20 cricket for the first time and Jayawardena walked in at 75/1 in the 8th over after Lanka were batting first.

Jamie Dalrymple cramped Jayasuriya for room and the Lankan opener glanced it to fine-leg. Jayawardena had called for a run and set off but Jayasuriya sent him back. Ian Bell's throw was accurate and the bowler removed the bails as Jayawardena found himself short. His debut had unfortunately ended in a golden duck, but Sri Lanka did go on to win a thriller.