Five Players With Most Number of International Sixes

Cricket today has become a batsman’s game with other players being more or fewer spectators. With pitch curators offering flat pitches, to the advent of smaller boundaries to encourage the spectators to witness the game, to International Cricket Council (ICC) putting the cherry on the cake by letting batsmen have bigger bats. The bowlers have got no room whatsoever. The incarnation of the T20 cricket has also been one of many reasons which have led bowlers no place to hide.

The amalgamation of all the factors has eventually brought about a revolution in the scope of thinking and fortitude of the batsman. Nowadays, bowlers are targeting to keep the run rate down, rather than to take pivotal wickets. Six hitting has also become absolutely effortless today with batsmen not afraid to take risks and hit the ball in the air. While some players rely on brute force and power, others are more reliant on timing.

Capitalizing on their mental or physical strength, many International cricketers have been able to turn the table around and keep the result by their side with accelerating as and when required. With this, let us see which five International cricketers have hit the most number of sixes.

1. Shahid Afridi

It will not be wrong to say that Pakistan‘s all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been one of the most beloved cricketers of all time, especially with his power to hit ruthless big sixes. With his ability to hit clean sixes effortlessly of the modern era, populous gave him name ‘Boom Boom Afridi’. However Afridi being around cricket for long, he had announced himself back in 1996 when he hit the then-fastest hundred. His record remained at the apex level before Colin Munro scored hundred in less than 37 deliveries.

In his International career, he managed to hit 476 sixes, most by an individual which is yet to be broken. In the International circuit, he will always be seen as a crowd puller who had the ability to take the game away from the opposition at any point in time.

2. Chris Gayle

The exuberant Windies Cricketer Chris Gayle occupies the second spot in the list. His physical strength and relying on just hand-eye coordination has helped him to be one of the most successful T20 cricketers of all time. However, he stands still and hitting those big sixes remains the same irrespective of the format he is playing. The batting giant has smashed 476 sixes, equalling Shahid Afridi’s record.

In terms of six hitting, he had his best year in 2012 when he smashed a record 59 sixes in the calendar year. He will forever be associated with his madcap batting which remains a crowd-favorite even today. With he playing around the world in different T20 leagues, he has been able to prove his stature on different pitches at a crucial time.

3. Bredon McCullum

Former Kiwi skipper and merciless batsman, Brendon McCullum takes the third spot in the list. He, along with other greats of the modern era contemporary batsmen like Virendra Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden, Dilshan have been able to bring the revolution in cricket with their ability to make a paradigm shift from orthodox to unorthodox and vice-versa.

Having been retired from International cricket in 2015, McCullum still has enough in the bank to stick third on this superlative list. He managed to hit 398 sixes in his whole career and has always been a delight to watch. Just like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum has the fortitude to play the pitch and not the opposition which has been the reason of his success.

4. Sanath Jayasuriya

Although Sanath Jayasuriya retired from International cricket 7 years back, he still stays on the fourth spot with 352 International sixes. This speaks volumes about the stature. Further, Sanath is all the more special seeing the sixes he hit at the time when bats were not over-sized, grounds were also big which tells how well he balanced mental and his physical strength.

He stood deep in his crease and punched the ball with raw power. However, he faced a difficult time with injuries throughout his career and perhaps never realized his true potential because of them. In spite of this, he remains one of Sri Lanka’s most impactful cricketers of the last decade.

5. MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian cricketer to feature in this having 342 sixes to his side. ‘The Helicopter Shot Inventor’ is one of the most talented cricketers to ever grace the cricket field. He is one of the few batsmen who has excelled in all three formats of the game. His range of inventive strokeplay has increased as his career has progressed.

His six hitting is effortless, and he can clear any boundary in the world with exemplary ease. Lately, MS Dhoni has taken the role the finish of the innings and try to stay till the end. He relies mostly on his game-skills which have helped him to carry the stature he does.