Six-hitting was never considered an art in cricket until the T20 format was introduced, but who hit the most sixes in international cricket?
For years, budding cricketers were told that rotating strike was more important given the kind of formats that were regularly played. T20, a format unheard of, arrived in around 2005 at the international level and the rest is history.
As T20 leagues came up and the demand for big-hitters grew, scoring sixes became more common, and these are the players with most sixes in international cricket.
A record-breaking ton in Delhi helped Rohit Sharma win the @aramco #POTM ⚡#CWC23 #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/O04U0huUjm
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) October 11, 2023
Rohit Sharma now has the record for most maximums across all three international formats, when he surpassed Chris Gayle during the World Cup game against Afghanistan.
He also became the third player, and first Indian overall, to hit 300 ODI sixes during his stunning innings against Pakistan on October 14.
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Contents
Top 10 players to hit most sixes in international cricket
| Player Name | Sixes |
| Rohit Sharma | 562 |
| Chris Gayle | 551 |
| Shahid Afridi | 476 |
| Brendon McCullum | 398 |
| Martin Guptill | 383 |
| MS Dhoni | 359 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 352 |
| Eoin Morgan | 346 |
| AB de Villiers | 328 |
| Jos Buttler | 315 |
Rohit Sharma
Rohit is at the top of the list of players to hit the most sixes in international cricket. He went past Gayle during the World Cup 2023 game against Afghanistan and now has a massive 562 sixes to his name in 454 matches at the international level. He went past the 560-maximums mark against Pakistan in the World Cup clash, hitting six sixes in his knock of 86.
He has so far hit 203 sixes in ODIs along with 77 and 182 in Tests & T20Is. He is also the first-ever Indian to hit 300 maximums in ODI cricket, with MS Dhoni in second place, with 229 sixes.
Chris Gayle
The Universe Boss, West Indies legend Gayle is next with 551 sixes, the second most sixes in international cricket. He topped the list for a long time before being surpassed by Rohit. Gayle featured in a total of 483 matches at the highest level.
Gayle smacked 98 sixes in Tests, 331 in ODIs and 124 in T20Is during his illustrious career. Though he hasn’t announced his international retirement officially, the southpaw is unlikely to play having last played for the West Indies in November 2021.
Shahid Afridi
Pakistan all-rounder Afridi is in the third position in this aspect. He is far behind the top two but hitting 476 sixes in international cricket is a commendable feat. He played a total of 524 matches in his career and clobbered the bowlers at will.
He managed to hit 52 maximums in Test cricket and 73 in T20Is, but he loved ODIs where he thumped the ball out of the park a staggering 351 times. After retiring and making a comeback multiple times, Afridi finally hung his boots from international cricket in 2018.
Brendon McCullum
Every format was like a T20 for McCullum. While his coaching style as England Test coach is hogging the limelight, McCullum the batter was even more entertaining.
The former New Zealand skipper stunned the fans and the opposition several times with his hitting managing to smack 398 sixes during his career. McCullum played 432 matches at the highest level and amassed 14676 runs at a strike rate of 82.11.
Martin Guptill
Martin Guptill boasts of a highest score of 237 in international cricket and played several memorable knocks for New Zealand. Over the course of 367 matches he played for the Kiwis, the opening batter smacked 383 maximums.
Guptill played only 47 Tests in his career and could hit 23 sixes in the format but when it comes to white-ball cricket, he was a champion batter. He smashed 187 and 173 sixes in ODIs and T20Is respectively.
He hasn’t retired from international cricket officially yet but last played for New Zealand in October 2022.
MS Dhoni
The only captain to win all three ICC trophies – 50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, Dhoni also features in this list thanks to the ability to hit effortless sixes.
Dhoni played 538 matches during his illustrious career in international cricket and hit 359 sixes out of which, 78 came in Tests, 229 in ODIs and 52 in the shortest format of the sport. He retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020.
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka legend Jayasuriya is in the seventh place on this list. He was the one to show the cricketing fraternity that runs can be accumulated aggressively, especially in the powerplay overs.
Featuring in a massive 586 matches in his career, Jayasuriya smashed the bowlers out of the park a staggering 352 times. He hit 270 sixes in his ODI career while sending the ball over the ropes in Tests 59 times and in T20Is 23 times.
Eoin Morgan
The first-ever captain to lead England to the ODI World Cup title, Morgan is also in this elite list. Morgan played international cricket for Ireland and England both.
During his career that spanned from 2006 to 2022, the left-hander played 379 matches at the international level and hit 346 sixes. He shone in white-ball cricket, smashing 220 sixes in ODIs and 120 in T20I cricket. He played in 16 Tests only and could smack the ball out of the park on six occasions.
AB de Villiers
Arguably one of the best players ever to play international cricket, De Villiers’ presence in this list is not surprising at all. The South African legend played 15 years at the top level and managed to smash the bowlers for six a stunning 328 times.
He played 420 matches in his storied career and equally dominated all the formats hitting – 64 sixes in Tests, 204 sixes in ODIs and 60 sixes in T20Is.
Jos Buttler
England’s current white-ball skipper Buttler is a big-hitting beast, especially in white-ball cricket. Buttler is known to thump the ball at will in ODIs and T20Is and has so far hit 315 sixes in his career.
He has featured in 337 matches at the top level during his 13-year international career so far and is expected to add more sixes to his tally by the time he hangs his boot at the highest level. He has the tenth most sixes in international cricket.
