Most Sixes by a Player in ODI Cricket : Top 10 List

The game of cricket has come a long way in adapting the attacking mindset from the age-old defensive play. With limited-overs cricket attracting fans and broadcasters, the game has witnessed an unending supply of big hitters who believe in going all guns blazing. As a result, the bowlers have often faced the heat with many going for a tour around the cricket stadiums in the world. 

Cricket has evolved to such an extent that there have been numerous cases when even good balls from bowlers have been tonked for a six. With a range of unorthodox strokes coming into the play, the past couple of decades have witnessed a growing surge in the number of sixes. In this piece, we shall quickly hover through the most sixes hit by a cricketer in the ODI format.

1. Shahid Afridi

Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi has hit the most sixes in ODI cricket with 351 hits out of the park. Making his debut in 1996 as a teenage sensation, Afridi made his intentions for world cricket clear with a stellar century in his first-ever ODI innings. Playing against Sri Lanka, Afridi smashed 11 sixes, scoring 102 in 40 balls. In 2002, Afridi smashed an unbeaten 108 off 92 balls, hitting 8 sixes while opening the innings against New Zealand. Three years later Afridi had another six-hitting spectacle where he smashed 9 hits out of the park in another innings of 102 in 46 balls, this time against the arch-rivals India at Kanpur.

2. Rohit Sharma

Nicknamed Hitman for his long-hitting ability, the current India captain Rohit Sharma has hit 338 sixes in one-day internationals and also has the world record of hitting the most number of sixes across all three international formats. Having made his debut as a youngster in 2007, Rohit gradually got promoted in the batting order and after making a shift as an opener in 2013, the best came out of him. With 54 maximums in the ODI World Cup, he tops the six-hitting charts in the tournament’s history. With three double centuries to his name, Rohit also has the highest individual ODI score (264) to his name. Having racked up 597 runs from eleven innings in the 2023 World Cup, he was India’s second-highest rungetter. The skipper of the side averaged 54.27 with the willow.

3. Chris Gayle

The Universe Boss Chris Gayle takes the third position in the list of cricketers with the most sixes in ODI cricket. In his 301-match-long ODI career spanning from 1999 to 2019, Gayle smashed 331 maximums scoring over 10000 runs in the format for West Indies. He also featured for ICC World XI, hitting only 1 six for the team. In his career, Gayle hit 25 tons and 54 half centuries including a career-best knock of 215 against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup. His last year playing the format turned out to be his best in terms of six-hitting as he smashed 56 sixes in 2019. His previous best year in terms of hitting sixes was 2015 when he smashed 29 sixes.

4. Sanath Jayasuriya

The Matara Mauler is one of the finest players to represent Sri Lanka. Hitting 270 sixes in his 445-match career, Sanath Jayasuriya started as a lower-order batter but ended his career as one of the most exciting openers in the history of the game. He scored 13430 runs in a 22-year-long career. He started opening the innings in 1993 and has hit 263 sixes in that position. He hit 30 sixes each in 1996 and 1997 with Sri Lanka winning the World Cup in the former year. His stroke-filled knock of 134 off 65 balls against Pakistan in 1996 saw him hit 11 sixes which was a world record at that time.

5. MS Dhoni

The former Indian World Cup and Champions Trophy-winning captain has hit 229 maximums in his successful 350-match ODI career spanning 15 years. His unorthodox batting and keeping skills stood out on the field. A strong bottom hand helped him play the helicopter shot to smash even the perfectly executed Yorkers out of the boundary rope. One of such strokes finished the 2011 World Cup final game in India’s favour where he scored 91 runs and was the player of the final. Playing only 3 games in 2004, Dhoni made the middle order position his own in 2005, smashing 34 sixes and scoring 895 runs with his highest score of 183 not out coming in the same year.

6. Eoin Morgan

The dual international and World Cup-winning captain for England has hit 220 sixes in his one-day international career. Morgan made his debut for Ireland in 2006 and was picked by England in 2009. For the latter side, he featured in 225 ODIs scoring 6957 runs with 13 hundreds, 42 fifties and 202 sixes. 2019 was his best year as far as long hitting is concerned as he cleared the fence on 41 occasions. His innings of 148 versus Afghanistan in the World Cup that year saw him hit 17 sixes, a World record for most sixes in an ODI innings.

7. AB de Villiers

Known as Mr. 360° for his ability to play in all directions of the ground and beyond, de Villiers has hit 204 sixes playing for South Africa and Africa XI in 228 ODI matches. De Villiers made his debut in 2005 and rose through the ranks to lead the Proteas side across all three formats. He hit 200 sixes for South Africa and 4 for Africa XI, finishing his career with 9577 runs at an average of 53.5. He was also the fastest batter to score 7000, 8000 and 9000 OD8. I runs but the records were later overhauled. His 16 sixes against West Indies in the world record knock of 149 in 44 balls is only 2nd to Morgan’s record of most sixes in an innings. That knock is also the fastest century in the format by any batter.

8. Brendon McCullum

The former Kiwi wicketkeeper batter was an all-time great who could bat at any position in all formats of the game, scoring at a brisk pace. Featuring in 260 ODIs for New Zealand in his 14-year-old career, McCullum scored 6083 runs with 5 centuries, and 32 half-centuries and hit 200 sixes. 33 of his sixes were hit in the World Cup year of 2015 where he led the team to the finals but failed to clinch the trophy. He scored his maiden ODI hundred against Ireland, hitting 10 sixes on his way to 166 off 135 deliveries.

9. Brendon McCullum

The former Kiwi wicketkeeper batter was an all-time great who could bat at any position in all formats of the game, scoring at a brisk pace. Featuring in 260 ODIs for New Zealand in his 14-year-old career, McCullum scored 6083 runs with 5 centuries, and 32 half-centuries and hit 200 sixes. 33 of his sixes were hit in the World Cup year of 2015 where he led the team to the finals but failed to clinch the trophy. He scored his maiden ODI hundred against Ireland, hitting 10 sixes on his way to 166 off 135 deliveries.

10. Sourav Ganguly

Tendulkar’s contemporary and former India captain Sourav Ganguly has hit 190 sixes in his 15-year-long ODI career. Having made his debut in 1992, Ganguly was known as the king of the offside due to his immaculate strokeplay irrespective of packed close-in fielders. After playing just one game in 1992, Ganguly returned to the fold in 1996 before being a batting mainstay in the Indian top order. The year 2000 turned out to be massive for the southpaw as he churned 1579 runs averaging 56.39 and hit 35 sixes in the calendar year. 31 of his 190 sixes were hit against South Africa.

Recent Changes in Rankings

One of the major alterations in the list for most ODI sixes is that Rohit Sharma has pipped Chris Gayle to cement the second position. Although he played relatively fewer ODI games in the past couple of years, the Mumbai stalwart’s purple patch saw a plethora of runs coming off his bat. Having struck 338 sixes, he is just 13 maximums behind Shahid Afridi, who sits atop the elusive chart. Due to Rohit’s rise in the particular list, rankings of all other batters in the list except Afridi have fallen by one spot.

Active Players to Watch 

Talk about the active players to watch out for in the exclusive list of six-hitting machines, Jos Buttler and Glenn Maxwell are a few of the names to keep an eye on. Having hit 170 sixes in 184 matches, the wicketkeeper-batter is twelfth in the list just behind New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (187). The current captain of the Three Lions should be able to enter the top ten in the list with plenty of cricket left in his career. He is also one of the most reliable forces in the English lineup in the limited format. 

Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli share the 16th spot with 152 sixes each. Although hitting big sixes is not Kohli’s natural gameplay, Maxwell is renowned for his gargantuan strokes. Due to the Australian's frequency of attempting big strokes, it is more likely that Maxwell makes the top ten in the list of most sixes in ODIs. 

A notable mention must go to Rohit Sharma for his proximity to the topmost spot in the list. Currently, second in the list of most ODI sixes, Rohit is just 13 big hits shy from equalling Shahid Afridi’s tally of 351 sixes.