New Delhi. In cricket, you must have seen any batsman’s face hanging the most when he could not open the account. If you watch the recording of old matches on TV, you will find that when a batsman returned to the pavilion after getting out on 0, a duck (cartoon) would also walk along with him with his mouth hanging, dragging his bat. That means being out on 0 may be a part of the game, but it definitely makes the batsman feel embarrassed. Muttiah Muralitharan has faced the embarrassment of being out on 0 the maximum number of times in international cricket. But do you know that there are some batsmen in the world who have faced this embarrassment not in one or two but in 5 consecutive innings. Among these batsmen, one name is also of that cricketer, who is currently the chief selector of BCCI. Name is Ajit Agarkar.
Ajit Agarkar is counted among the best cricketers of India. When Agarkar was at the peak of his career, he made a record of taking 50 wickets in the fewest number of matches. The century at Lord’s is also a feat of Agarkar’s which he would feel good remembering. But believe me, whenever he would remember the 1999-2000 tour of Australia, he would shudder. Ajit Agarkar had made such a record on this tour, which no cricketer would ever want to make or equal. Ajit Agarkar was out for 0 in 5 consecutive innings in the Test series against Australia.
Ajit Agarkar had made a pair in Melbourne and Sydney Test. That means he could not open his account in both the innings of Melbourne and Sydney Test. Earlier, he was also out in the fourth innings of Adelaide Test without opening the account. Talking about the overall record of Ajit Agarkar, he has played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and 4 T20 International matches. He has taken a total of 349 wickets in these three formats and scored 1855 runs, which includes one century and 3 half-centuries. Ajit Agarkar is currently the chief selector of BCCI.
However, Ajit Agarkar is not the first cricketer to be out for 0 in 5 consecutive innings. Before him, Robert Holland and Danny Morrison had also made this unwanted record. Robert Holland of Australia was a specialist leg spinner. Whereas Danny Morrison of New Zealand was a fast bowler. Holland had made this record in 1985, which was equaled by Morrison in 1993.
Let us tell you that Robert Holland and Danny Morrison were considered the weakest batsmen of their team. How his batting was can be gauged from the fact that Robert Holland has scored 35 runs in 11 tests. Whereas Danny Morrison has scored 379 runs in 48 tests.