Most Sixes in IPL History by a Player

The most sixes in IPL history hit by a player is 357, hit by Chris Gayle. The former West Indies skipper has played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore and ended his IPL stint as the most destructive batsman of the tournament. 

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle’s start to the Indian Premier League wasn’t as great as many expected. Instead, it was his KKR compatriot Brendon McCullum who stole the limelight with some thunderous knocks in the debut season. The second season wasn’t any different either as the strong southpaw could muster only 26 sixes in the first two seasons.

Gayle was unsold in the 2011 IPL mega auction and later joined RCB as the replacement player for bowler Dirk Nannse. It was a turning point in his IPL career as he joined Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at RCB. He went on to be the highest run scorer for the 2011 IPL. His sixes tally for IPL edition 2011, 2012 and 2013 were 44, 59 and 51, respectively. Gayle could hardly replicate those performances with IPL 2019 being an exception when he turned up for PBKS to tally 45 sixes. Gayle last played an IPL match in 2021 and still leads Rohit Sharma, the second-highest six-hitter in IPL, by 100 sixes.

Rohit Sharma

A total contrast to Gayle in terms of physical stature, it is an anomaly to see Rohit Sharma hit 257 sixes in the IPL. Banking solely on timing and footwork, Shama’s biggest USP to sit second on this list is consistency. Starting his IPL career as an all-rounder for Deccan Chargers, Sharma has always been a pinch hitter. 

One of the greatest limited-over batsmen of the 21st century, Rohit Sharma has redefined an opener’s role in cricket with his aggressive temperament and IPL was the perfect platform to hone his skill. Sharna’s best IPL season, in terms of sixes tally, came in 2013 when hit 28 sixes and helped Mumbai Indians win the championship for the very first time.

AB de Villiers

Like most big stars in IPL, ABD didn’t fully start his IPL stint until the second season and he shone for the now-defunct Delhi Daredevils franchise with 12 sixes. However, after an underwhelming IPL 2010, where De Villiers failed to hit a single six, he joined RCB and thus started a journey that would be remembered for ages.  After warming up with 14, 15 and 15 sixes-tally in his first three seasons, respectively, ABD hit form and tallied a whopping 83 sixes in the next three editions. His next peak came in IPL 2018 when tallied 30 sixes, but could never repeat that performance and retired in 2021 with a total of 251 sixes.

MS Dhoni

The most successful player and captain of the entire tournament, MS Dhoni was once known for his brutal hits that won India and Chennai Super Kings countless matches. Dhoni had started IPL on a strong note, tallying 15 sixes in IPL 2008 as CSK reached the final. Dhoni’s sixes tally crossed 20 in the early 2010s when he came to bat early in the middle-order, but his best season came in IPL 2018 when he accumulated 30 sixes and helped his side win the tournament. 

The 42-year-old is still going strong in his favourite tournament and will look to add to his tally of 239 sixes in 2024.

Virat Kohli

The second favourite son of modern cricket after MS Dhoni for Indian fans, Virat Kohli sits fifth on the list with 234 sixes. It’s an impressive number given the king of cricket banks largely on singles and boundaries to score tons of runs. Kohli started IPL quite young, even before he had made his international debut, and took his time to become the run machine that he is today. However, something switched in 2013 when he was made the captain of the franchise as he crossed the threshold of 20 sixes in an IPL season for the first time. However, Kohli’s best IPL campaign came in IPL 2016 when he tallied 38 sixes, four centuries and 973 runs, all in one season.

David Warner

A special mention to the Australian legend, who is not only a one-time IPL champion but also the third-highest scorer in the tournament history. Warner’s best phase in IPL came with Sunrisers Hyderabad whom he led and opened for almost seven seasons. Starring for Delhi Daredevils for the first five seasons, Warner was in good form tallying 58 sixes in that time. However, he hit his peak in 2014 for SRH and continued it till 2017 in which he tallied an outstanding 123 sixes. Warner has 226 sixes in IPL across 176 matches so far, and he will be turning up for Delhi Capitals for the third consecutive season in IPL 2024.