Chris Gayle has hit 900 sixes in T20 cricket. No other batsman in the history of the format has cleared the rope more often, and the margin between Gayle and every other player who has ever picked up a bat in a T20 match is not particularly close. The Jamaican left-hander turned the six from a bonus into the primary scoring tool, and the numbers he accumulated across international T20Is, the IPL, the Big Bash, the PSL, the CPL and half a dozen other franchise leagues remain the benchmark against which every power-hitter is measured.
Kieron Pollard sits second with 720 sixes from a remarkable 521 matches. Andre Russell has 636 from 447, and Nicholas Pooran — still active and still climbing — has 635 from just 371 outings. Jos Buttler rounds out the top five with 574. The leaderboard tells a story about Caribbean muscle, Australian aggression, and Indian consistency that has defined T20 batting across two decades.
The All-Time T20 Sixes Leaderboard
| Rank | Player | Sixes | Matches | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CH Gayle | 900 | 391 | West Indies, RCB, KXIP, KKR, Thunder + |
| 2 | KA Pollard | 720 | 521 | West Indies, MI, Strikers, Renegades + |
| 3 | AD Russell | 636 | 447 | West Indies, KKR, Thunder, Stars + |
| 4 | N Pooran | 635 | 371 | West Indies, PBKS, SRH, LSG, Stars + |
| 5 | JC Buttler | 574 | 417 | England, MI, RR, GT, Thunder + |
| 6 | RG Sharma | 520 | 422 | India, MI, Deccan Chargers |
| 7 | GJ Maxwell | 502 | 446 | Australia, KXIP, DD, RCB, MI, Stars + |
| 8 | C Munro | 476 | 356 | New Zealand, DD, DC, KKR, Sixers + |
| 9 | AD Hales | 461 | 400 | England, SRH, Thunder, Renegades + |
| 10 | CA Lynn | 442 | 277 | Australia, KKR, MI, Heat + |
| 11 | SR Watson | 440 | 312 | Australia, RCB, CSK, RR, Thunder + |
| 11 | LS Livingstone | 440 | 301 | England, RR, PBKS, RCB, SRH, Scorchers + |
| 13 | E Lewis | 437 | 229 | West Indies, MI, RR, LSG, Patriots + |
| 14 | V Kohli | 432 | 389 | India, RCB |
| 15 | DA Warner | 427 | 365 | Australia, SRH, DC, Thunder, Sixers + |
| 16 | AJ Finch | 423 | 354 | Australia, GL, KXIP, RCB, KKR, RR + |
| 17 | DA Miller | 408 | 374 | South Africa, KXIP, RR, GT, LSG, DC + |
| 18 | TH David | 401 | 282 | Singapore/Australia, RCB, MI, Scorchers + |
| 19 | BB McCullum | 389 | 296 | New Zealand, GL, RCB, KKR, CSK, Heat + |
| 20 | Q de Kock | 380 | 312 | South Africa, RCB, MI, LSG, KKR, SRH + |
The Universe Boss: Gayle's 900
Chris Gayle's 900 sixes span 391 T20 matches across at least ten franchise leagues and international cricket. The number is staggering on its own, but the rate at which he hit them — 2.30 sixes per match — is what separates him from every peer. Pollard needed 521 matches to reach 720. Russell needed 447 for 636. Gayle reached his total in fewer games than either because when he connected, the ball did not come back.
Gayle's T20 career ran primarily through West Indies internationals, the IPL (where he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, and Kolkata Knight Riders), the Big Bash (Sydney Thunder, Melbourne Renegades), the PSL (Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars), and the CPL. His 175 not out for RCB against Pune Warriors in IPL 2013 remains the highest individual score in IPL history and contained 17 sixes — a single-innings record that stood for years.
The Caribbean Dominance
Four of the top five names on this list are West Indian: Gayle, Pollard, Russell, and Pooran. Evin Lewis sits 13th with 437 sixes from just 229 matches — the best sixes-per-match rate (1.91) of anyone in the top 20 aside from Gayle. The Caribbean pipeline of power-hitters has no equivalent in world cricket.
Pollard's 720 sixes came across the longest career in the top 20 by match count (521 games). The Trinidadian all-rounder played for Mumbai Indians across 12 IPL seasons, captained MI Cape Town in SA20, and appeared in nearly every franchise league on the planet. His ability to clear any ground in any conditions — left-arm spin over long-on, fast bowling over midwicket — made him the most consistent finisher in T20 history.
Russell's 636 sixes carry a reputation for violence. At Kolkata Knight Riders, Russell built a career on innings that lasted 15-25 balls and contained more sixes than singles. His strike rate across all T20 cricket sits comfortably above 160, and his sixes-per-match average of 1.42 reflects a batsman who treated clearing the boundary as the default option.
The Active Chasers
Nicholas Pooran at 635 sixes from 371 matches is the most dangerous active climber. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman has represented Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, appeared in the Big Bash, PSL, the Hundred, and SA20, and captained West Indies in T20Is. At 1.71 sixes per match, Pooran is accumulating at a rate that could see him challenge Gayle's 900 if his career extends another five or six years.
Jos Buttler (574 sixes, 417 matches) combines clean striking with anchoring ability. His 124 not out for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022 is one of the great T20 innings — and it was built on sustained six-hitting rather than single explosive bursts.
Liam Livingstone, tied 11th with Shane Watson at 440, has reached that number in just 301 matches. His sixes-per-match rate of 1.46 is the third-best in the top 20 behind Gayle and Lewis. The Englishman hits sixes off both pace and spin, from both sides of the wicket, and in all phases of the innings.
The Indian Contingent
Rohit Sharma (520 sixes, 422 matches) is the highest-ranked Indian on the list at sixth. The Mumbai Indians captain and India's T20I skipper has built his six-hitting reputation primarily through two franchises — MI and India — rather than the global franchise circuit. His 520 sixes from just three teams (India, MI, Deccan Chargers) is a testament to longevity and consistency in a smaller pool of competitions.
Virat Kohli sits 14th with 432 sixes from 389 matches. Kohli has played for just two teams across all T20 cricket — India and Royal Challengers Bangalore/Bengaluru. His six-hitting profile is different from the Caribbean power-hitters above him: Kohli's sixes tend to come in clusters during big innings rather than as isolated blasts, and his 1.11 sixes per match reflects a batting style built on accumulation and acceleration rather than boundary-or-bust.
The Efficiency Metric: Sixes Per Match
The raw leaderboard tells one story. The rate tells another.
| Player | Sixes | Matches | Sixes/Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| CH Gayle | 900 | 391 | 2.30 |
| E Lewis | 437 | 229 | 1.91 |
| N Pooran | 635 | 371 | 1.71 |
| CA Lynn | 442 | 277 | 1.60 |
| LS Livingstone | 440 | 301 | 1.46 |
| AD Russell | 636 | 447 | 1.42 |
| TH David | 401 | 282 | 1.42 |
| SR Watson | 440 | 312 | 1.41 |
| KA Pollard | 720 | 521 | 1.38 |
| JC Buttler | 574 | 417 | 1.38 |
Gayle at 2.30 sixes per match is in a category of his own. Lewis at 1.91 had the talent to challenge that rate but played fewer matches due to inconsistent franchise selection. Lynn at 1.60 was one of the most destructive openers in Big Bash history — his 442 sixes from just 277 matches (Brisbane Heat, KKR, Adelaide Strikers) represent exceptional efficiency.
Tim David at 1.42 is notable: the Singapore-born, Australian-adopted finisher reached 401 sixes in just 282 matches, making him one of the fastest risers in T20 history. His ability to hit sixes from ball one in death overs has made him a premium auction asset across the IPL, Big Bash, and PSL.
The Global Franchise Effect
The expansion of T20 franchise leagues — the IPL (2008), Big Bash (2011), PSL (2016), CPL (2013), the Hundred (2021), SA20 (2023), ILT20 (2023), and MLC (2023) — has created a year-round calendar for power-hitters. Pollard's 521 matches are a direct product of this: no player in the pre-franchise era could have accumulated that volume.
The leaderboard also reveals which players embraced the franchise circuit fully. Gayle, Pollard, Russell, Hales, and Munro each played for ten or more teams across multiple leagues. Kohli and Rohit, by contrast, stayed loyal to fewer franchises, which partly explains their lower match counts despite long careers.
What the Numbers Show
The 900-six barrier has been broken by exactly one player. The 700-barrier by two. The 600-barrier by four. The clustering at 400-500 sixes (positions 7-20) suggests that this is the realistic ceiling for a full T20 career without Gayle-level dominance. Pooran and Buttler are the two active players most likely to push into the 700+ range, but both would need another 3-4 years of consistent franchise participation to get there.
The list is dominated by openers and top-order batsmen (Gayle, Buttler, Rohit, Warner, Finch, Lynn, Hales, Munro, de Kock) — but the middle-order finishers (Pollard, Russell, Pooran, Maxwell, Miller, David, Livingstone) are just as well represented. T20 cricket rewards six-hitting regardless of batting position, and the format has produced specialists at both ends of the innings.
FAQ
Who has hit the most sixes in all T20 cricket?
Chris Gayle holds the all-time record with 900 sixes across 391 T20 matches, spanning international T20Is and franchise leagues including the IPL, Big Bash, CPL, and PSL.
Which active player has the most T20 sixes?
Nicholas Pooran leads among active players with 635 sixes from 371 matches. Jos Buttler is second among active players with 574 sixes from 417 matches.
Who has the best sixes-per-match rate in T20 history?
Chris Gayle at 2.30 sixes per match — nearly a full six per match more than second-placed Evin Lewis (1.91). Among the top 20 all-time, only Gayle and Lewis average above 1.70 sixes per match.
How many Indians feature in the top 20 for T20 sixes?
Two — Rohit Sharma (6th, 520 sixes) and Virat Kohli (14th, 432 sixes). Both have played for fewer franchise teams than most players above them, accumulating their totals primarily through India internationals and a single IPL franchise each.