Most Sixes in IPL History, With IPL 2026 just 6 days away, we rank the five players who hit the most sixes in IPL history — the numbers, the stories, and the one record even the greatest active players cannot touch.
March 22, 20265 min readBy [Author Name]IPL Stats
Every IPL season carries the question: who will clear the ropes the most? Before the 2026 edition bowls its first ball, it is worth pausing on the five players who have defined what six-hitting truly means in this format — and on one record that has stood for years, untouched, possibly untouchable.
“Chris Gayle’s 357 sixes is not a record. It is a warning to every power-hitter who came after him.”
All-time record
357
Chris Gayle
Top 5 combined
1,465
total sixes
Closest active
302
Rohit Sharma
Days to IPL 2026
6
season starts Mar 28
The all-time leaderboard
Here is every player in the top five, ranked by total IPL sixes, with their gap from Gayle’s all-time record and current playing status.
Table 1 — All-time ranking
Most sixes in IPL history
| # | Player | Sixes | Gap | Share | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Gayle | 357 | — | Retired | |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | 302 | -55 | Active | |
| 3 | Virat Kohli | 291 | -66 | Active | |
| 4 | MS Dhoni | 264 | -93 | Active | |
| 5 | AB de Villiers | 251 | -106 | Retired |
Chris Gayle — the record that defies time
Chris Gayle’s 357 sixes did not happen in one season, or one franchise, or one era. They accumulated across stints at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and other franchises — a relentless, multi-year assault on opposition bowlers that no one has come close to matching since he retired from IPL cricket.
What makes the record truly remarkable is the pace at which he set it. Gayle was not just accumulating over time — he was clearing boundaries at a rate that made every match he played feel like a highlight reel. At his peak, he was the most feared batter in Twenty20 cricket globally, and the IPL gave him the stage to prove it season after season.
No active player is on pace to reach 357 before IPL 2030 at the earliest. It is the kind of record that ages into legend.
Table 2 — Active vs retired
By player status
| Status | Players | Sixes | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | 3 | 857 | 286 |
| Retired | 2 | 608 | 304 |
| Total | 5 | 1,465 | 293 |
Table 3 — By franchise
Top franchise contribution
| Franchise | Players | Sixes |
|---|---|---|
| RCB | Gayle, Kohli, ABD | 899 |
| MI | Rohit Sharma | 302 |
| CSK | MS Dhoni | 264 |
Rohit Sharma — the only active threat to the record
At 302 sixes, Rohit Sharma is the only player still active in the IPL who could realistically challenge Gayle’s record. The gap is 55. If Rohit hits 28 sixes per season — roughly his historical average — he needs two more full seasons to get there. IPL 2026 starts that clock.
His consistency across nearly two decades with Mumbai Indians is what puts him on this list. Not a single monster season, but sustained, reliable power-hitting that has quietly built one of the greatest IPL batting careers ever assembled.
Virat Kohli — the unlikely boundary machine
291 sixes surprises people. Kohli is not traditionally seen as a six-hitter — his game is built on placement, running hard, and playing long innings. Yet his longevity at RCB, combined with his ability to shift gears in the final overs, has quietly made him one of the format’s great boundary hitters. At 291, he is only 11 behind Rohit and still adding to his tally every season.
MS Dhoni — finishing with force, one last time
Dhoni’s 264 sixes carry a very specific context. Almost all of them arrived in the final 2-3 overs of an innings, under maximum pressure, when the game’s outcome hung on a single swing. That is not accumulation — that is precision violence with a cricket bat.
IPL 2026 is widely expected to be Dhoni’s final season. Every six he hits this year will carry the weight of an entire era. For CSK fans, that makes each one worth watching twice.
AB de Villiers — the gold standard
AB de Villiers retired from IPL cricket having never found a delivery he could not hit for six. His 251 in this list came from 360-degree hitting that redefined what was possible in a Twenty20 innings. No angle was wrong. No field setting was safe. His legacy at RCB remains the cleanest example of how a middle-order batter can take complete ownership of an innings.
Can anyone break Gayle’s record?
This is the question IPL 2026 sets up. Here is the honest breakdown of what each active player would need to do.
Table 4 — Record gap analysis
How far is each active player from 357?
| Player | Current | Gap | Per season needed | Est. seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSRohit Sharma | 302 | 55 | 28 | ~2 |
| VKVirat Kohli | 291 | 66 | 22 | ~3 |
| MDMS Dhoni | 264 | 93 | 93+ | Final season |
Quick stats at a glance
Table 5 — Summary
Everything you need to know
All-time recordChris Gayle — 357 sixes
Top 5 combined1,465 sixes
Closest active playerRohit Sharma — 55 behind
Best franchise (top 5)RCB — 899 sixes across 3 players
Dhoni’s IPL 2026 status Expected final season
IPL 2026 start dateMarch 28, 2026
What to watch for in IPL 2026
Rohit Sharma’s six count enters IPL 2026 at 302. If he has a strong season — 30 or more sixes — the conversation around Gayle’s record becomes very real heading into 2027. Virat Kohli, quietly closing the gap year after year, could also make this a two-horse race by mid-season.
And then there is Dhoni. He will not break 357. But every six he hits in what is likely his farewell season will be celebrated like a century. That is a different kind of record — one measured not in numbers, but in what it means to the people watching.
“Six days. Five legends. One record. IPL 2026 starts March 28 — and the boundaries are ready.”
