Cricket becomes more interesting to the viewers when the batsman starts hitting boundaries.
With the inauguration of more and more T20 leagues like IPL, Big Bash, PSL, and many more – T20 is gathering more audiences than ever before. As there are only 20 overs per side, the teams need to make quick runs and that’s where power-hitting comes in to play. Hard hitters of the ball are the first preference of every team for T20s. Batsmen are expected to play their shots from the very first over. Some big names of T20 are Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, and AB de Villiers, who are capable of hitting sixes and fours anywhere in the stadium.
The beauty of a flat-six that is well-hit is that the crowd goes berserk, it helps accelerate the scoring rate while also pinching the bowler’s confidence. Given below is the list of cricketers who have notched up the highest number of sixes in T20 cricket.
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1) Chris Gayle ( West Indies):
The Jamaican is seen as the most destructive batsman in the shortest format of international cricket. He can change the game at any moment with his destructive batting. The 39-year-old Windies player is more popular for hitting boundaries and specifically for his sixes. As many would have expected, he holds the record of most sixes in T20 Internationals.
The 39-year-old has 103 sixes in his account in 52 T20 international innings. Chris Gayle was awarded as the leading run-scorer for West Indies batsmen in ODIs. Further, he is their only player to hit a double hundred in ODIs, triple hundred in tests and a hundred in T20Is.
2) Brendon McCullum (New Zealand):
Brendon McCullum is the other New Zealander in the list. He retired from all formats of international cricket in 2016 but still holds the third spot in the list highest run-getters in T20 and also in the list of players with most sixes.
McCullum played his last international T20 match in 2015 and still sits at no. 3 in this list with 91 sixes to his name in 70 innings.
Also Read: Top 8 Longest Sixes in the History of International Cricket
3) Rohit Sharma (India):
Rohit Sharma is the only Indian on the list and surprisingly. The Indian opener takes some time to settle but after that, he plays his aggressive game which can change the tide in favor of the team he plays for. He has played 77 international T20 innings and slapped 89 sixes, which is the highest by any Indian in this format.
Also, he is the only Indian to cross the 300 sixes mark in T20 cricket. Rohit Sharma also holds the record of fastest century in T20Is along with David Miller – both scored a century off 35 balls. This right-handed batsman is in the third position in the list, hitting 232 sixes in 215 matches and 209 innings with an average of 49 and a strike rate of 89.
4) Shahid Afridi (476 sixes)
The prolific Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi was highly renowned for his six-hitting ability in each format of the game. Such was his ability with the bat that he registered the then fastest century in ODI innings only in his debut innings against Sri Lanka for Pakistan. The record stood for many years until it was broken by Corey Anderson and then AB de Villiers.
Afridi, in his 524 caps for Pakistan, hit a total of 476 sixes to see him second in the list for players with most sixes in international cricket. He was highly successful as a finisher for Pakistan in ODIs all due to the striking ability that made him one of the most reliable players in the team.
5) MS Dhoni (India):
Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in December 2004. India won the ICC Cricket World Cup in April 2011 against Sri Lanka under his captaincy. Also, under his leadership, India won the ICC Champion’s Trophy in 2013, defeating England in the final. Dhoni has the distinction of hitting 229 sixes in 350 matches and 297 innings, thereby securing the fifth position in the list. He has maintained an average of 51 and a strike rate of 88.
As can be seen, these are some of the biggest six-hitters and mega cricketers of the world. Afridi, Jayasuriya and now Chris Gayle who is about to retire represent a golden generation of icons that have mostly faded out of the international scenario now and the same can be said of MS Dhoni although he still has much to offer to Indian cricket. In Rohit Sharma, there are the makings of an icon along with Virat Kohli and together, they can spur India to greater heights in times to come.
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Here are some more cricketers that are drawn to as well, which are outlined here for your browsing convenience that was in the discussion:
- Sanath Jayasuriya
- Colin Munro
- Shahid Afridi
- Yuvraj Singh
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