Most Sixes in International Cricket: Rohit Sharma becomes second player after Gayle to hit 500 plus maximums

India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (December 7) crossed the milestone for 500 sixes in international cricket during the second ODI against Bangladesh at the Sher E Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.

Rohit struck five maximums in his fighting knock of 51 off 28 balls, but India fell 6 runs short of Bangladesh's target of 272. The Indian skipper took his tally of sixes in international cricket to 502 and he is only behind legendary West Indies batter Chris Gayle, who has struck 553 maximums.

Rohit has hit those 502 sixes in 428 matches (445 innings) across formats in ODI, T20I and Tests, while Gayle has struck those 553 maximums in 483 matches (551 innings).

The Indian skipper leads the list for active cricketers with New Zealand's Martin Guptill behind him by a fair margin with 383 sixes in 367 matches (402 innings). The top 15 list also features Rohit's compatriots Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

Here is the list for players with most sixes in international cricket:

Rohit also takes the third spot for most sixes in IPL with 240 sixes, just eleven maximums away from surpassing second-placed AB de Villiers, who has struck 251 sixes in the IPL. The leader on the IPL sixes list is Gayle, who has 351 sixes to his name.

Gayle also is record holder for most sixes in T20 cricket overall with over 1000 sixes in his career in the shortest format. Rohit is sixth in this list with 462 sixes, behind Shane Watson, Brendon McCullum, Kieron Pollard and Gayle.

Now, let's take a look at the players with most sixes across formats in international cricket:

Most Sixes in ODIs

Rohit is fourth in the top 5 list for most sixes in One Day Internationals (ODI). Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi occupies the first spot with 351 maximums in the 50-over format, while Gayle and former Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya take the next two spots.

Here is the top 5 list for most sixes in ODIs:

Player	Team(s)	Sixes
Shahid Afridi	Pakistan/ICC/Asia	351
Chris Gayle	West Indies/ICC	331
Sanath Jayasuriya	Sri Lanka/Asia	270
Rohit Sharma	India	256
MS Dhoni	India/Asia	229

Most Sixes in T20Is

Rohit tops the list for most sixes in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) with 182 maximums followed by New Zealand's Guptill, who has struck 173 sixes and former Australia captain Aaron Finch, who has 125 sixes to his name.

Here is the top 5 list for most sixes in T20Is:

Player	Team	Sixes
Rohit Sharma	India	182
Martin Guptill	New Zealand	173
Aaron Finch	Australia	125
Chris Gayle	West Indies	124
Eoin Morgan	England	120

Most Sixes in Tests

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter and current England Test coach Brendon McCullum leads the list for most sixes in the red ball format on the international stage. England captain Ben Stokes is the only active cricketer on the list with 105 maximums.

Here is the top 5 list for most sixes in Tests:

Player	Team(s)	Sixes
Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	107
Ben Stokes	England	105
Adam Gilchrist	Australia	100
Chris Gayle	West Indies	98
Jacques Kallis	South Africa/ICC	97