The sudden retirement of New Zeland’s enigmatic Brendon McCullum just prior to the World T20 might have come as a dampener to the Indian crowd who might have been hopeful of seeing the fearless batsman go berserk during the tournament. But the T20 format has given rise to a number of powerful big-hitters and no one exemplifies the fact more than West Indies’ Chris Gayle.
Heading into the World T20, Gayle might have been mindful of McCullum's record tally of 91 T20 international sixes, with him being just four behind. While it was expected that Gayle would go on to break the record during the course of the tournament, Gayle fast-tracked the goal by smashing as many as 11 sixes during his unbeaten century against England on Wednesday that came off just 48 balls.
The burly West Indian has delighted the Indian crowd time and again with many memorable performances during the IPL and the Wankhede crowd were in for a treat as Gayle made a mockery of England’s more than decent total of 182, leading West Indies to a comfortable victory in their World T20 opener.
He nearly went past the record for the fastest T20 international century as well as and he now stands at an enviable 98 T20I sixes – a superb achievement considering Gayle’s nearest active rival in this regard, Australia’s Shane Watson is 19 hits away.
A look at the Top 10 six-getters in T20 international cricket reveals many of the biggest hitters in the game with the likes of David Warner, Shahid Afridi and Yuvraj Singh making the cut. The three are placed from fourth to sixth respectively with New Zealand opener Martin Guptill placed at seven.
England skipper Eoin Morgan, who was left helpless at the Gayle onslaught features at number eight while Pakistan’s Umar Akmal and South Africa's JP Duminy round off the Top 10. With all but McCullum featuring at the 2016 World T20, fans in India can look forward to some mighty hits with the main stage of the tournament just underway.
Most sixes in T20 Internationals
| Batsman | Matches | Innings | Runs | Avg | 6s |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 46 | 44 | 1506 | 37.65 | 98 |
| Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 71 | 70 | 2140 | 35.66 | 91 |
| Shane Watson (Aus) | 54 | 52 | 1366 | 28.45 | 79 |
| David Warner (Aus) | 57 | 57 | 1595 | 29.53 | 73 |
| Shahid Afridi (Pak) | 95 | 87 | 1364 | 18.18 | 70 |
| Yuvraj Singh (Ind) | 52 | 45 | 1086 | 30.16 | 69 |
| Martin Guptill (NZ) | 58 | 56 | 1672 | 34.12 | 69 |
| Eoin Morgan (Eng) | 57 | 56 | 1360 | 30.90 | 59 |
| Umar Akmal (Pak) | 76 | 73 | 1611 | 26.85 | 53 |
| JP Duminy (SA) | 68 | 62 | 1571 | 36.53 | 52 |
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