To answer the question simply, Chris Gayle. “Universe Boss” has hit 292 sixes – the most in IPL history across 10 seasons and 111 innings. To put perspective, Gayle is over a hundred sixes clear of the next cluster, which includes four names placed extremely closed to one another, ranging from 184 to 187.
Players | 6s | I | BF | 6s/I | BF/6 |
Chris Gayle | 292 | 111 | 2,650 | 2.63 | 9 |
AB de Villiers | 187 | 129 | 2,619 | 1.45 | 14 |
MS Dhoni | 186 | 158 | 2,906 | 1.18 | 16 |
Suresh Raina | 185 | 172 | 3,601 | 1.08 | 19 |
Rohit Sharma | 184 | 168 | 3,429 | 1.10 | 19 |
Virat Kohli | 177 | 155 | 3,784 | 1.14 | 21 |
David Warner | 160 | 114 | 2,824 | 1.40 | 18 |
Shane Watson | 157 | 113 | 2,250 | 1.39 | 14 |
Yusuf Pathan | 157 | 146 | 2,196 | 1.08 | 14 |
Kieron Pollard | 154 | 121 | 1,699 | 1.27 | 11 |
There is no doubt whatsoever over Gayle’s supremacy, but for a few years his six-hitting prowess in IPL seemed to be on the wane. Then he turned things around for Kings XI Punjab, who had acquired him in the last moment after Royal Challengers Bangalore had released him.
Gayle had hit 32 sixes across 2016 and 2017 (from 19 innings). These would have been outstanding numbers by anyone’s standards, but not for him. For KXIP in 2018 Gayle hit 27 sixes in 11 innings.
And just before the IPL, he hit 39 sixes in 4 ODI innings against England – the most by anyone in any format in a series or tournament of any duration involving any number of teams in the history of international cricket.
There is no doubt regarding who the biggest six-hitter is despite the wane in form.
But that is one man: what about others? Here are the top six-hitters from 2017 and 2018:
Players | 2019 Franchise | 6s (2017 and 2018) | BF | BF/6 |
Rishabh Pant | Delhi | 61 | 615 | 10 |
MS Dhoni | Chennai | 46 | 552 | 12 |
AB de Villiers | Bangalore | 46 | 438 | 10 |
Robin Uthappa | Kolkata | 42 | 500 | 12 |
Chris Gayle | Punjab | 41 | 415 | 10 |
Kane Williamson | Hyderabad | 38 | 675 | 18 |
Sanju Samson | Rajasthan | 38 | 593 | 16 |
Chris Lynn | Kolkata | 37 | 540 | 15 |
Ambati Rayudu | Chennai | 37 | 480 | 13 |
Jos Buttler | Rajasthan | 36 | 530 | 15 |
Shane Watson | Chennai | 36 | 437 | 12 |
Sunil Narine | Kolkata | 33 | 318 | 10 |
KL Rahul (only 2018) | Punjab | 32 | 416 | 13 |
Shreyas Iyer | Delhi | 31 | 553 | 18 |
Hardik Pandya | Mumbai | 31 | 355 | 11 |
Ishan Kishan | Mumbai | 30 | 390 | 13 |
Virat Kohli | Bangalore | 29 | 633 | 22 |
Kieron Pollard | Mumbai | 29 | 376 | 13 |
Dinesh Karthik | Kolkata | 27 | 596 | 22 |
Andre Russell | Kolkata | 27 | 285 | 11 |
Suresh Raina | Chennai | 25 | 643 | 26 |
Rahul Tripathi | Rajasthan | 25 | 434 | 17 |
While Pant heads the list, most of the names that follow his have at least five years of IPL experience, so it is probably not a new-generation thing.
Other than Pant, Gayle, de Villiers and Narine have also hit a six every 10 balls, while Hardik and Russell hover around the 11-mark.
Surprisingly, Knight Riders – not quite the franchise that comes to one’s mind when you think of big scores – have five entries on the list.
Some of the names – Rayudu and Tripathi, for example – make interesting reading. Another example is Narine, promoted up the order by Knight Riders two seasons ago to pair Lynn – a move that had worked wonders.