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It’s been nearly 18 years since India made their debut in twenty20 international cricket and batting has only evolved since then. The advent of the IPL has seen the batters grow and only get better. With every passing year, the number of sixes hit is only increasing. As many as 19 Indian batters have hit more than 200 sixes in twenty20 cricket and seven of them have crossed the 300-six mark. But here we look at the top five Indian batters with the most number of sixes in twenty20 cricket.
(Stats as of 15th of October)
Rohit Sharma – 525 sixes
There is absolutely no surprise that Rohit Sharma tops the list of six hitters among Indian batters. The current Indian captain has been superb across all formats over the last few years and his aggressive style of play has given India and Mumbai Indians some incredibly quick starts at the top of the order. Very few players look as elegant as Rohit Sharma when he hits a six. The Mumbai batter has all the shots in the book and makes it look so easy when he is out in the middle.
He has hit a staggering 525 sixes in twenty20 cricket where he has played 448 matches. It was in the IPL earlier this season that Rohit became the first Indian batter to hit 500 twenty20 sixes. He is second on the list of most sixes in the IPL – 282. He is the eighth on the list of most runs in twenty20 cricket history – 11830 runs at an average of 30.88 and a strike-rate of 134.76. For India, he has the most runs in the history of T20Is (4290 runs). Moreover, he is the only batter to hit 200 sixes in twenty20 internationals.
Virat Kohli – 416 sixes
When you hear the name Virat Kohli, you may not think of a ‘six’. However, the ace India batter has been a prolific six-hitter throughout his career. He has constantly looked to up his game when it’s required. He is second on the list of most sixes in twenty20 cricket by an Indian batter. The 35-year-old Delhi cricketer has been the backbone of the batting line-up for India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the last 15 years.
He has piled on the runs and has formed the crux of the batting department. Kohli is the fifth-highest run-getter in the history of twenty20 cricket. His run tally reads 12886 runs at an average of 41.43 and a strike-rate of 134.20. That is the most for any Indian player in twenty20 cricket.
Kohli has smashed 416 sixes in his 399-game twenty20 career and 272 of those have come in the IPL. He has struck 1144 fours which is the most by an Indian in the shortest format. He is one of the only three Indian batters to hit 100 sixes in T20Is in men’s cricket.
MS Dhoni – 338 sixes
MS Dhoni is arguably one of the greatest Indian captains to have ever stepped on the field. Under him, India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have touched magnificent heights. His batting prowess and power have been some of his standout skills. He still is one of the hardest hitters of a cricket ball. The Ranchi-born wicket-keeper batter made his name as a power-hitter in the early 2000s and maintained that throughout his career.
Having made his debut in 2006, Dhoni has featured in 391 twenty20 matches and has smacked 338 sixes. He sits at the third spot among the Indian batters with the most sixes in twenty20 cricket. Out of those, 252 sixes have come in the IPL. Dhoni has scored 7432 runs at an average of 38.11 and a strike-rate of 135.64 in his twenty20 career. He continues to be one of the most dangerous batters to bowl to at the death.
Suryakumar Yadav – 333 sixes
Suryakumar Yadav may be termed as a late bloomer but he has been around the scene for a long time now. It was only in early 2021 that he made his international debut for India. That came on back of some very consistent runs in the IPL from 2018 along with racking up big scores in domestic competitions for Mumbai.
Surya came to the limelight because of his finishing ability for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2014 to 2017. He showed his ability to play all around the ground and hit sixes even behind the wicket-keeper. However, his move to MI was a notable one as he became supremely consistent which forced the Indian selectors to draft him in the squad. And he hasn’t looked back since.
The current India T20I skipper makes batting look ridiculously easy and he is shattering the record books in the twenty20 internationals. He already has amassed 2544 runs at an average of 42.40 and a strike-rate of 169.48. In all T20s, he has got 7717 runs while averaging 35.17 and striking at 152.80. He has hammered 333 sixes in his twenty20 career. 144 of those have come for India which is the joint third-most in twenty20 internationals.
Suresh Raina – 325 sixes
Suresh Raina ends this list of the top five Indian batsmen with the most sixes in twenty20 cricket. The UP left-hander was termed as Mr IPL for most part of his career. He was an absolute bank for both CSK and India in the shortest format. In fact, Raina is the first Indian batter to hit a hundred in twenty20 internationals.
He was someone who could hit sixes regularly and has hit 325 sixes in his 336-match career in twenty20 cricket. The Ghaziabad-born left-handed batter has aggregated 8654 runs at an average of 32.17 and a strike-rate of 137.45. He has got 53 fifties and four fifties. For a long time, he was the leading run-getter in the IPL before Virat Kohli took over. In fact, there was a time when Raina was sure to give a 400-run season in the IPL. For India, he hit 58 sixes and got 1605 runs while averaging 29.18 and striking at 134.87.
