IPL 2019: Who will hit the most sixes this time?

IPL 2019: Who will hit the most sixes this time?

IPL 2019 Chris Gayle sixes Kings XI Punjab Royal Challengers Bangalore

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.

Players6sIBF6s/IBF/6
Chris Gayle2921112,6502.639
AB de Villiers1871292,6191.4514
MS Dhoni1861582,9061.1816
Suresh Raina1851723,6011.0819
Rohit Sharma1841683,4291.1019
Virat Kohli1771553,7841.1421
David Warner1601142,8241.4018
Shane Watson1571132,2501.3914
Yusuf Pathan1571462,1961.0814
Kieron Pollard1541211,6991.2711

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:

Players2019 Franchise6s (2017
and 2018)
BFBF/6
Rishabh PantDelhi6161510
MS DhoniChennai4655212
AB de VilliersBangalore4643810
Robin UthappaKolkata4250012
Chris GaylePunjab4141510
Kane WilliamsonHyderabad3867518
Sanju SamsonRajasthan3859316
Chris LynnKolkata3754015
Ambati RayuduChennai3748013
Jos ButtlerRajasthan3653015
Shane WatsonChennai3643712
Sunil NarineKolkata3331810
KL Rahul (only 2018)Punjab3241613
Shreyas IyerDelhi3155318
Hardik PandyaMumbai3135511
Ishan KishanMumbai3039013
Virat KohliBangalore2963322
Kieron PollardMumbai2937613
Dinesh KarthikKolkata2759622
Andre RussellKolkata2728511
Suresh RainaChennai2564326
Rahul TripathiRajasthan2543417

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.