Top 10 players who have hit most sixes in international cricket

With T20s rise to prominence in theinternational arena, watching the ball sail over the ropes has become a routine affair these days. Here, we take a look at thelist of players who have hit the most number of sixes in international cricket.Also read:ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Schedule

#10 Sourav Ganguly

The 3rd Indian to make this coveted list, Sourav Ganguly has scored 247 sixes in his international career. The former captain of the Indian national team has played 424 international matches scoring 18575 runs in the process.

Check some of his best sixes here:

#9 Jacques Kallis

One of the best all-rounders to have ever played the game, Jacques Kallis, who recently retired from international cricket, has scored 25534 runs in 519 international matches. The South African legend is also the only cricketer to have scored more than 11,000 runs and taken 250 wickets in both ODIs and Tests. Kallis scored a total of 254 sixes in his international career.

Here’s Kallis hitting sixes in the 1999 World Cup:

#8 Adam Gilchrist

Considered as one of the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen to have graced the game, Adam Gilchrist scored 262 sixes in his international career. The Australian has a total of 15461 runs to his name in 396 international matches.

Check this huge six against Muralitharan:

#7 Sachin Tendulkar

Retired legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar makes to the list of most sixes in his career at sixth place, and it is one of the only few batting records in which he has finished outside the top three. Tendulkar, who has scored 34357 career runs in a staggering 664 matches, has hit a total of 264 sixes in his career.

Check this video where Sachin demolishes Zimbabwe:

#6 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is the only new entrant to this list in the last year – with his devastating form continuing in 2015. De Villiers, who has quite a few more years to go before he retires, should also make it to the top three of this list by the time he retires, at least.

De Villiers has made 17340 runs in 358 matches, the least among all players in this list, and has hit 267 sixes.

#5 MS Dhoni

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni makes it to the list at 5th spot with 285 international career sixes under his belt. The wicket-keeper batsman has a penchant for finishing matches with big shots, and it reflects in the number of sixes he has hit in his international career.

Dhoni, who has scored 14224 runs in a total of 389 matches, is famous for his six to win India the cricket World Cup in 2011 and is also credited for the invention of his trademark helicopter shot.

The most memorable six from MS Dhoni:

#4 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who tormented bowlers for nearly two decades before retiring in 2011, has 352 sixes in 586 matches.

Check this huge six from Jayasuriya:

#3 Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, has 365 international career sixes to his name as of today. The top order batsman has so far played 411 matches, scoring 13783 runs. He became the first person to hit a century in the IPL when he scored a brilliant century in the first ever match of the domestic T20 league.

Check this weird six from Brendon McCullum:

#2 Chris Gayle

If sixes hit in the IPL are also considered, Chris Gayle, who has scored 17841 runs in his international career so far, would definitely be the No. 1. Even without those, the Jamaican is at the second spot, having scored 423 international career sixes to his name in a total of 417 matches.

Check this Gayle Storm:

#1 Shahid Afridi

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is famous for his aggressive batting style, and it shows in the stats as he tops this list with 452 international career sixes to his name. In a total of 493 matches, Boom Boom, as he is commonly referred to, has scored a total of 10922 runs, 2712 out of which have come through sixes, which amounts for a staggering 24.83 percent of all runs scored.

He is also the only player in our top 10 to have a strike-rate of over 100 when all formats are combined. He also has the second fastest century and the second fastest half-century in ODIs to his name.

Is this the biggest six ever?