Most Sixes in Cricket History Across all Formats: The Biggest Hitters

Traditionally, cricket in the test format was regarded as a battle of skill and technique between batters and bowlers. But now, with the advent of the shorter formats like the ODI and T20s, and the aspect of power hitting in cricket has added an electrifying dimension to the game. Six hitting is now one of the most exciting parts of the sport. The ability to hit maximums consistently has become a defining factor in the modern era of the game. And as an entertainment point of view, seeing players hit big is what every spectator loves.  The art of hitting big shows how dominant you can be with your cricket bat on the pitch. In this article of ZAP Records, let’s look at a list of players with the most international sixes in all formats. 

Most sixes in test cricket:

Ben Stokes plays a  sweep shot to hit a six

Credit: Wisden

Tests, one of the oldest formats, is a very slow paced game, and we don’t usually see batsmen going big. But players like Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle changed how they approached the game and went aggressive. Gayle even holds the record for hitting a six off the very first ball of a test match. Ben Stokes, who’s been the best allrounder for England for so many years, and now the England Test Team captain is at the top of the list with 109. Here is a list of top 10 players with the most sixes in test history. 

Rank

Player

Team

Matches

Test 6s

Average 6s / Match

1

Ben Stokes

England

91

109

1.1978

2

Brendon McCullum

New Zealand

101

107

1.0594

3

Adam Gilchrist

Australia

96

100

1.0417

4

Chris Gayle

West Indies

103

98

0.9515

5

Jacques Kallis

South Africa

166

97

0.5843

6

Virender Sehwag

India

104

91

0.8750

7

Brian Lara

West Indies

131

88

0.6718

8

Chris Cairns

New Zealand

62

87

1.4032

9

Vivian Richards

West Indies

121

84

0.6942

10

Tim Southee

New Zealand

94

83

0.8829


Most sixes in ODI cricket:

Shahid Afridi hitting a ball out of the park in an ODI match for Pakistan

Credit: Crictracker

ODIs are exciting, an equal blend of patience and aggression, where both skills are equally required. This format has seen some huge innings by great batsmen. We have even seen players like Rohit Sharma hit 16 maximums in a single ODI innings, but the record for the most sixes in a single ODI innings stays with Eoin Morgan, where he smashed Afghanistan for 17 in an ICC ODI World Cup match in 2019. Shahid Afridi remains at the top of the list of top 10 batsmen with most sixes in One day internationals with 351

Rank

Player

Matches

ODI 6s

Average 6s / Match

1

Shahid Afridi

398

351

0.8819

2

Chris Gayle

301

331

1.0997

3

Rohit Sharma

243

275

1.1317

4

Sanath Jayasuriya

445

270

0.6067

5

MS Dhoni

350

229

0.6543

6

Eoin Morgan

248

220

0.8871

7

AB de Villiers

228

204

0.8947

8

Brendon McCullum

260

200

0.7692

9

Sachin Tendulkar

463

195

0.4206

10

Saurav Ganguly

311

190

0.6103


Most sixes in t20 international cricket:

Rohit Sharma hits a ball out of the park in a T20I match for India

Credit: ICC

T20 is all about sixes. The ability to deposit the leather ball into the stands is now a bare minimum for batsmen in the shortest format of the game. This is what makes this version of the game so entertaining for fans. It is not even surprising if you see a team hit 20-25 maximum in a single T20I game. Rohit Sharma, the man with the most centuries in T20 cricket, retains top spot in this list as well, having hit 182 maximums in just 148 matches. Here’s a list of players with the most sixes in T20Is. 

Rank

Player

Matches

T20 6s

Average 6s / Match

1

Rohit Sharma

148

182

1.2297

2

Martin Guptill

122

173

1.4180

3

Aaron Finch

103

125

1.2136

4

Chris Gayle

79

124

1.5696

5

Eoin Morgan

115

120

1.0435

6

Virat Kohli

115

117

1.0174

7

Paul Stirling

121

117

0.9669

8

Jos Buttler

104

113

1.0865

9

Evin Lewis

53

111

2.0943

10

Colin Munro

65

107

1.6462


Most sixes in international cricket in all Formats:

Chris Gayle hitting a ball out of the park

Credit: ABP News

Hitting maximums and getting those half dozen runs for your team has now become an invaluable skill for all players to have. Even in the Test format, you see players like Rishabh Pant come in and hit bowlers out of the park, suddenly giving a momentum shift. The ability to hit sixes consistently has become a defining factor in the modern era of cricket. Chris Gayle sits at the top of the list, with most sixes in international cricket history. His tally of 553 is truly remarkable, but India’s very own, Ro-HITMAN Sharma is super close to clinching the top spot. 

Here's a list of players with the highest number of sixes in international cricket in all formats:

Rank

Player

Total Sixes

Total Matches

Test 6s

ODI 6s

T20I 6s

1

Chris Gayle

553

483

98

331

124

2

Rohit Sharma

534

443

77

275

182

3

Shahid Afridi

476

524

52

351

73

4

Brendon McCullum

398

432

107

200

91

5

Martin Guptill

383

367

23

187

173

6

MS Dhoni

359

538

78

229

52

7

Sanath Jayasuriya

352

586

59

270

23

8

Eoin Morgan

346

379

6

220

120

9

AB de Villiers

328

420

64

204

60

10

Jos Buttler

304

326

33

158

113

Most Sixes in the IPL:

Andre Russel smacks a six in an IPL match

Credit: 100 MB

Sixhitting is the most exciting part of the Indian Premier League. There can be matches when teams even fail to score 5 runs of the last over or some other matches when Rinku Singh can hit 5 sixes off the last 5 balls to win his team the match. But in terms of the number of maximums a player has hit, no one comes close to Chris Gayle. He had an aura, and instilled a fear in the lives of bowlers. Here’s a list of players with the highest number of sixes in IPL history.

Player

Sixes

Matches

Team

Average 6s / Match

Chris Gayle

357

142

Punjab, Kolkata, Bangalore

2.51

Rohit Sharma

257

243

Mumbai, Deccan Chargers

1.06

AB de Villiers

251

184

Bangalore, Delhi

1.36

MS Dhoni

239

250

Chennai, Pune

0.96

Virat Kohli

234

237

Bangalore

0.99

David Warner

226

176

Delhi, Hyderabad

1.28

Kieron Pollard

223

189

Mumbai

1.18

Suresh Raina

203

205

Chennai, Gujarat

0.99

Andre Russell

193

112

Kolkata, Delhi

1.72

Shane Watson

190

145

Chennai, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bangalore

1.31

Conclusion:

As the sport evolves and grows to become more entertaining, we will only get to see more maximums being hit in the years to come. The shortest format, the T20s have given batsmen an extra incentive to take risks and go big, which has inspired some incredible batting performances. Who will become the next batsman to break the record for most sixes in international cricket? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the future of the sport is going to be super entertaining.


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