Golden duck for Abhishek Sharma as Pakistan-born visa-concerned USA man ruins his T20 WC debut

Ali Khan gets Abhishek Sharma's wicket (Source: AFP Photos)

India had pinned their hopes on Abhishek Sharma for the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, but in the very first game against the USA, the Indian opener embarrassed himself as the star player was dismissed for a golden duck. The USA side had a perfect setup for him and Abhishek fell into the trap.

Interestingly, his wicket was taken by the Pakistan-born pacer, Ali Khan. The Indian opener loves to use his feet as Khan bowled the delivery away from the batter, as Abhishek miscued the shot and the ball was caught safely by the fielder at deep cover as Khan drew first blood in the India vs USA contest.

Ali Khan was one of the four Pakistan-born USA players who had issues in getting their visa for the T20 World Cup, but he eventually announced his arrival in India with a big wicket.

Abhishek Sharma enters unwanted T20 World Cup list

After getting out without opening his account, Abhishek entered an unwanted list as he became the fifth Indian batter to be dismissed for a duck on their T20 World Cup debut innings.

Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Hooda are the other four players in the unwanted T20 World Cup list. This was also his third duck in T20Is as an opener. Only former captain, Rohit Sharma is ahead of him (4) ducks.

Either a big score or nothing for Abhishek

In the last few games, Abhishek Sharma has blown hot and cold as the batter has either scored a big, or has been dismissed for a duck. In the first match of the series, he started with a mind-blowing 84 off 35, and it was followed by a golden duck.

It was followed by an unbeaten 68 off just 20 balls in the third T20I, and in the next game, Abhishek once again registered a duck.

In the series finale, he scored a quick-fire 30, and it was again followed by a golden duck against the USA in the T20 World Cup.

India in trouble after Abhishek's dismissal

The Wankhede wicket in Mumbai had some juice for the bowlers, and the USA side exploited it to perfection. They had the perfect field setup for every batter as Abhishek Sharma was the first to be dismissed for a duck.

Following this, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan had a brief partnership as the duo took on the USA bowling attack. However, disaster struck as Kishan departed, and it was followed by wickets of Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube as India lost 4 wickets for just 46 runs.

India create unwanted record in powerplay

Inside the powerplay, India scored truckloads of runs against the USA, but at the same time, they lost 4 wickets and created an unwanted record.

Losing 4 wickets is the joint-most India has lost inside the powerplay in T20 World Cup history. 24/4 against Australia in the 2010 edition remains at the top, and 29/4 against New Zealand in the 2016 World Cup remains second, with the ongoing contest occupying the third spot.