Most sixes in T20 cricket are currently the most exciting and challenging format in the game. In this quick-paced, action-packed game, batters must learn to deposit the ball into the stands. Few top-tier right-handed batters have succeeded in hitting the most maximums consistently throughout the course of an entire year on the international stage.
It has long been established that a batsman will typically have the upper hand over a bowler when it comes to garnering attention and that a handle bearer will likely develop into a brand or a legend earlier than a bowler.
Since the introduction of the T20 format, cricket has inexorably turned into a batsman’s game, and bowlers are forced to take cover in anticipation of massive maximums because the handle bearers now frequently go for boundaries off the first ball.
The game has become significantly more favorable to batsmen since smaller fields and bugger bats were introduced. As a result, many cricket records have been set and broken, first innings totals have reached new heights, and bowlers have made centuries of runs conceded in a single spell.
In fact, over the past two years, Rohit Sharma has twice registered double hundreds, which used to be a team’s total in One Day Internationals.
While these batters have earned the moniker “run machines” thanks to these cricket records, there has also been a significant increase in the number of sixes scored in a match, regardless of the format.
Since the T20 format emphasizes taking chances right away, the same strategy has been applied to the ODI format, pushing first innings totals close to the 400-mark while making a total of 350 simple to chase.
In turn, this has given us many new cricket records to remember and treasure. Scoring sixes has evolved into an effortless display of strength and timing by a batsman. On that topic, we’ve listed the top five cricketers in all forms who have scored the most sixes in a calendar year to give our readers a better sense of how striking sixes has altered the nature of the game forever.
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5. Shahid Afridi, position #7 (2005)
In 1996, against Sri Lanka, he made history by scoring the then-fastest ODI century, taking just 37 balls. Over the course of his 18-year career, he earned the nickname “Boom Boom Afridi” for his crisp yet forceful ball striking.
He had a great year in 2005 when it came to hitting sixes, slamming 56 of them in 31 games, which at one point held the cricket record for the most sixes ever shot. Afridi also holds the record for the most international sixes ever made in cricket (476).
4. Shane Watson, position #6 (2011)
On the list of cricket players who have scored the most maximums in a calendar year, the well-known Australian all-rounder ranks fourth. Watson used to stand much inside the crease and punch the ball with raw force when he was at his best.
His best six-hitting year was in 2011 when he cleared the fence 57 times in 34 international games. He continues to be one of Australia’s most significant players of the past ten years.
3. Chris Gayle, position #4. (2012)
No list of cricket sixes records, sometimes known as the universe boss, is complete without Chris Gayle. He was regarded as the best T20 player of his period and, along with players like Virender Sehwag, Brendon McCullum, and David Dilshan, changed the opening batting strategy.
While he holds many cricket records, his best year for hitting sixes came in 2012, when he smashed the ball for 59 maximums in only 26 matches. With 454 career maximums, he ranks second among all six hitters.
Mr. 360, as AB de Villiers is known, has established numerous cricket records during his career, including the fastest fifty, fastest tonne, and fastest 150 in one-day cricket.
2. AB de Villiers, position #2 (2015)
He is second on this record after hitting the ball 63 times for sixes in 32 international games in 2015.
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1. Position #1 – Rohit Sharma’s Most Sixes in a Calendar Year in 2017, 2018, and 2019
He can hit sixes with ease, clear any boundary with extreme ease, and is the only cricketer in the world to have three double tonnes in ODIs. Rohit Sharma is a player of such importance in the game of cricket that, when his career is through, he will undoubtedly be remembered as a great in the ODI format.
Then, in 2018, he set a new world record while breaking his own record by hitting 74 sixes. Rohit broke his previous year’s record for sixes in 2019 by connecting on 78 of them. It is currently a record that Rohit holds the top three spots for most maximums in a calendar year. This demonstrates the talent of this outstanding player, who holds several other records, such as the highest individual knock by a player in a One Day International.
Rohit Sharma has been able to smash his own records from the previous two years three times in a row to set the record for the most sixes in a calendar year. The record for the most sixes in a year was held by AB de Villiers until Rohit broke it in 2017 with 65.
These five batsmen now hold the record for the most sixes hit in a calendar year in all of cricket, and with the top three still playing, we anticipate that they will continue to break records throughout their careers and provide their supporters with even more memorable moments.
