Most Sixes in T20 International Cricket: Top 10 list

The past couple of decades have witnessed a growing popularity in cricket’s shorter formats. This could be due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, the twenty and ten over formats are time effective, providing working officials to attend live matches and get entertainment. Secondly, modern-day fans are more amazed to watch towering sixes in the stadium than enjoy copybook-style batting or understanding bowling tactics. 

Certainly, the T20 format has revolutionized cricket, with a plethora of cricketers rising through the ranks. With the increasing demand for T20 cricketers due to the surge in franchise competitions, the skill of a cricketer is often tested – be it a batter or a bowler. In this piece, we shall keep our focus on the batters, keeping a detailed eye on the top players having hit the most sixes in T20Is. 

1. Rohit Sharma | 205 T20I Sixes

Rohit Sharma made his T20I debut in 2007 at the T20I World Cup hosted by South Africa, and there were early signs of greatness from his middle-order cameos then. After a brief setback in 2008, when Sharma was left out for the most part, he returned to be India’s important batsman in the shortest format. 

His first T20I century came against South Africa and he went on to score four more tons, which is the joint highest alongside Australia’s Glenn Maxwell in this format at an international level. Rohit Sharma’s four other tons came against Sri Lanka, England, West Indies and Afghanistan.

The mighty Australians have been Sharma’s favourite opponent in this format against whom he has hit 29 sixes in 23 matches with Bangladesh being the second, conceding 22 sixes off his willow. Fondly called the “Hitman”, Rohit Sharma hung up his boots from T20Is after delivering the 2024 T20 World Cup title for India.   

2. Martin Guptill | 173 T20I Sixes

Martin Guptill might not have been New Zealand’s all-format star that the country desperately needed alongside Brendon McCullum, but the Auckland-born heavily built hard hitter was a beast in the T20 format. In the 122 T20I matches that Guptill played, he hit 173 sixes, often delivering the Kiwis the start they needed.

The right-handed hard-hitter possessed a short-arm pull on one leg shot that very few batsmen in the world could boast of. Though he was dismissed for a duck in his T20I debut against Australia, he often returned with consistent performances thereafter with his first century coming against South Africa in an unbeaten cause. Guptill had one other century that came against England. 

3. Muhammad Waseem | 158 T20I Sixes

The top-order UAE batter was one of the top professionals to have made an impact in global T20 leagues from his country. Muhammad Waseem, known for his aggressive play at the top of the order has converted starts on multiple occasions in the past five years.

Waseem has amassed 3112 runs at an average of 35.77 in 95 matches. He has been striking the ball at 152.54. The 28-year-old has smashed three tons with 112 being his best in the format. Among renowned franchise tourneys, he has represented the MI Emirates in the ILT20 League, Multan Sultans, and Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, and Colombo Strikers in the Lanka Premier League.

Despite his prowess across the franchise leagues, Waseem has shown equal flair with the bat for his country. He averages 39.29 in 69 games, racking up 2515 runs. Having earned a reputation for hitting huge sixes, the swashbuckler has smoked 158 biggies, the third-best in the world, and the best among active international cricketers in the T20 format.

4. Nicholas Pooran | 149 T20I Sixes

What makes Nicholas Pooran an exciting talent is his backstory. He was met with an accident after finishing the 2014 U-19 World Cup as the fourth-highest run-scorer that saw him tearing his patella tendon, fracturing his tibia, and fracturing his ankle. However, the player was born with an instinct for big shots and he took to batting effortlessly after returning.

Pooran’s 24-ball-50 against India in 2018 forced the world to take notice of him and he hasn’t since stopped. Though the Trinidad man is yet to get his maiden T20I century, his ability to deal in sixes makes him a prized possession in T20Is and he has already whacked 149 sixes in less than 100 games.

5. Jos Buttler | 148 T2OI Sixes

While the English cricket team has had numerous stars over the decades, Jos Buttler was easily the first global T20 name to come out of the cricket camp. His contributions in white ball cricket with aggressive yet consistent batting performances were one of the main reasons for the side’s success in 2019 and 2022.

Buttler gained prominence as a T20 beast with the IPL when in 2022 he ended the season with 863 runs - the second-highest in the T20 league - and four centuries. Despite making his T20I debut in 2011, it wasn’t until 2016 that Buttler became a regular performer and hasn’t looked back since.

Though the Somerset-lad has only one T20I century so far, his ability to deal in sixes is what makes him extremely dangerous. He has his 148 sixes in 124 matches so far, with his favourite opponents being Australia and India, who have conceded 56 and 45 sixes from him so far.

6. Suryakumar Yadav | 145 T20I Sixes

Yet another batsman who has made six-hitting look extremely easy is India’s Suryakumar Yadav. Having the ability to hit sixes at all parts of the ground with relative ease makes Yadav, a.k.a SKY, draw a comparison with South Africa’s great AB De Villiers who was called Mr. 360 in cricket.

Surya Kumar Yadav made his debut late but wasted no time becoming India’s best clutch player alongside Hardik Pandya in white-ball cricket. His T20I career is less than three years old and Yadav already boasts of four tons in the shortest format of international cricket. His centuries have also come against big teams like England, South Africa, and New Zealand apart from Sri Lanka. He has hit the most number of T20I sixes against West Indies (35).  

7. Glenn Maxwell | 137 T20I Sixes

If there’s one player who holds the moniker of being the biggest entertainer in white ball cricket, it is Glenn Maxwell. Successfully executing unconventional reverse sweeps and pull shots and making them look ridiculously easy is Maxwell’s biggest forte.

He is one of Australia’s fastest run scorers, which was evident by his unbeaten 128-ball-201 against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup and his 19-ball-50 against Tasmania years before, which is the fastest fifty in Australia's one-day domestic history.  

However, Maxwell’s way of playing comes at a cost, which is his inconsistency. He sits fourth on the list and still has as many as five T20I centuries, joint highest with Rohit Sharma. India has been Maxwell’s favourite opponent in T20Is, against whom he has hit two tons and 34 sixes. West Indies, Sri Lanka, and England are the other three teams against whom he has centuries, with his sixes tally being 134 in just 113 games.

8. David Miller | 130 Sixes

Having grown with a reputation of finishing tough games with the bat, David Miller stands eighth in the list of most sixes in T20I cricket. The left-handed batter from South Africa is one of the veterans of the format, having produced 11139 runs in the format in 516 innings. The Pietermaritzburg-born averages 35.25 in T20s with a strike rate of 137.85. 

Among many records that Miller has recorded, his unbridled 106 against India at the Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati is the best score for a number five batter in T20Is. He has also played the sixth-highest number of T20Is (130) in the world. 

Miller was a part of the South African side that became the runners-up in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America. He was one of the batters facing Hardik Pandya in the last over when Proteas crumbled under pressure. Nevertheless, some moments define Miller’s T20 capability in a good way. The 35-year-old is one of the batters to make it to the top ten in most T20I sixes list. Amassing 2591 runs in 114 innings at an average of 33. 21, the southpaw has smashed 130 sixes in T20 Internationals, the most from South Africa.

9. Paul Stirling | 129 T20I Sixes

Had Paul Stirling not been born in Ireland, the Belfast hard-hitter could have easily been a superstar in cricket given his ability to generate immense power with very little backlift. Stirling’s straight shot down the ground and pull shot over midwicket have been a treat for sore eyes.

Having made his T20I debut way back in 2009, Stirling has hardly had a dry spell for the Irish side. 

His ability to maintain a good strike rate has consistently kept Ireland as one of the World Cup competitors amongst the associate nations with Stirling’s first and only century coming in 2021 against Zimbabwe. The Ireland cricket team has played the most number of matches against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe with Stirling hammering 25 and 19 sixes against them, respectively.