Rohit Sharma becomes batter with most sixes in international cricket
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has scripted history by becoming the batter with the most sixes in international cricket. He went past West Indies legend Chris Gayle's tally of 553 maximums with his third six in India's 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup match against Afghanistan in Delhi. No other batter owns over 500 maximums at the highest level. Here we look at his sensational stats.
Rohit goes to the top
Nicknamed 'Hitman', Rohit's ferocious striking ability has given nightmares to many potent bowlers. He backs himself to clear the ropes across all stages of the game. Standing in his 453rd international match, Rohit smashed his 554th six in India colors as he went past Gayle. Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (476) is the only other batter with 400 or more sixes across formats.
Rohit is way ahead of other Indians
The next Indian on this elite list is MS Dhoni, who owns 359 maximums. Virat Kohli occupies the third spot with 283 sixes. He isn't likely to go anywhere near Rohit's tally. Interestingly, Kohli has almost 8,000 more international runs than Rohit. Meanwhile, England skipper Jos Buttler (314) is the only other active player with 300 or more international sixes.
Decoding his sixes tally in ODIs
Standing in his 253rd ODI, Rohit has completed 295 maximums in the format. Only Gayle (331) and Afridi (351) have hit more sixes in ODIs. Among active players, New Zealand's Martin Guptill (187) is closest to Rohit. The Indian skipper has now raced past 10,120 runs in 252 ODIs at a 48-plus average (50s: 53, 100s: 30). The tally includes three double-centuries as well.
Most sixes in T20Is
Meanwhile, Rohit leads the six-hitting charts in T20Is, having smashed 182 maximums in 148 games. Guptill (173) is the only other batter with 150-plus sixes in T20Is. With 3,853 runs at 31.32, Rohit is the second-highest run-getter in the format (50s: 29, 100s: 4).
His sixes tally in Tests
Though Rohit's red-ball record isn't as colossal as his white-ball numbers, he has still done pretty well in the format. He has so far smashed 77 sixes in 52 Tests so far. Virender Sehwag (91) and Dhoni (78) are the only Indians with more maximums in the format. Rohit has so far garnered 3,677 runs in whites at 46.54 (50s: 16, 100s: 10).
Other prominent six-hitting records
Rohit has smashed joint-second-most sixes in an ODI inning, 16 vs Australia in 2013. He also holds the Indian record of mustering the most maximums in a T20I inning, 10 vs SL, 2017. He has also slammed the most sixes in a Test match, 13 vs SA in 2019. Rohit smashed 78 sixes in 2019, the most for a batter in a calendar year.
