Most Sixes In T20s In A Calendar Year

Nicholas Pooran in action (x.com)Nicholas Pooran in action (x.com)

The ceaseless ability to clear the ropes pretty much defines the mindset and intent of a batter in T20 cricket. Certain players have mastered this six-hitting art, with legendary West Indies opener Chris Gayle being one of the leading trendsetters to have completely grasped the format’s aggressive and fast-paced nature.

In the realm of T20 matches, here at OneCricket, we take a look at five instances of a batter launching the highest number of maximums in a single calendar year. As evidenced by his reputation, Gayle alone dominates the list by being featured four times.

112 – Chris Gayle (2016)

112 – Chris Gayle (2016)112 – Chris Gayle (2016)

West Indies batting barbarian Chris Gayle cleared the fence a staggering 112 times in T20 cricket in the calendar year 2016. He smacked 11 of them during West Indies’ triumphant campaign at the 2016 T20 World Cup and another 21 during the IPL 2016 season in India. 

Gayle’s other T20 ventures from 2016 included a PSL stint for Lahore Qalandars, a BPL season for Fortune Barishal and a CPL appearance for the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise. The legendary opening batter played just 47 T20 innings throughout the year and amassed 1,304 runs at an average of 30.32. The cricketer also smacked 93 additional fours across the 12-month period to constitute an overall boundary haul of 205 hits.

116 – Chris Gayle (2011)

116 – Chris Gayle (2011)116 – Chris Gayle (2011)

Chris Gayle’s brute force fetched him 116 sixes from just 31 T20 innings in the year 2011. Missing out the entirety of West Indies T20I action, the broad-shouldered opener muscled 1,497 runs and maintained a prolific batting average of 57.57 in league cricket. 

Gayle launched 44 of those sixes for the RCB franchise in 12 IPL 2011 innings, where he decimated bowling attacks with a strike rate of 183.13. He also topped the overall T20 run-scoring charts that year, leading second-placed David Warner by more than 300 runs.

121 – Chris Gayle (2012)

121 – Chris Gayle (2012)121 – Chris Gayle (2012)

Just a year after striking 116 sixes in 2011, Chris Gayle upped his game even further to clobber 121 hits in 2012. In 10 innings for the West Indies in T20Is that year, the cricketer bashed 25 maximums, which included 16 in a tournament-winning cause at the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. 

Gayle’s raging year also featured an ‘Orange Cap’ winning IPL 2012 performance for the RCB, where he clubbed a season-best record haul of 59 maximums from just 14 innings. Overall, the cricketer played for four T20 teams throughout the 12-month period, smearing 1,532 runs at a monumental strike rate of 151.68, all at the top of the order.

135 – Chris Gayle (2015)

135 – Chris Gayle (2015)135 – Chris Gayle (2015)

Chris Gayle whipped 135 of his 1,056 career T20 sixes in the year 2015 alone. Apart from clearing the fence 15 times in T20 internationals for West Indies, he crashed 38 maximums for the RCB franchise in IPL 2015. 

While he frequently played for the West Indies and RCB, Gayle also turned up for teams like Somerset and Jamaica Tallawahs in England’s T20 competition and CPL 2015 seasons, respectively. The batting marauder additionally racked up 123 boundaries as part of his 1,665-run tally from just 36 innings at an astonishing average of 59.46 and a ferocious strike-rate of 164.52.

139* – Nicholas Pooran (2024)

139* – Nicholas Pooran (2024)139* – Nicholas Pooran (2024)

Fellow West Indies star Nicholas Pooran soared past Chris Gayle’s unreal six-hitting haul from 2015 within just the first eight months of the year 2024. Having played 58 matches until August for eight different T20 teams, the hot-headed wicketkeeper-batter exploded 139 maximums and an additional 120 boundaries to score 1,844 runs at an average of 43.90. Pooran’s strike rate of 161.04 also became a force to be reckoned with as he decimated the opposition’s bowling attacks with utmost disdain. 

For West Indies, the dashing southpaw sent the ball spiralling over the ropes 34 times in just 13 innings and another 36 times for the LSG franchise during the IPL 2024 season in India. The innings that helped Nicholas Pooran scale the all-time annual six-hitting record occurred on August 31 when he pounded nine maximums on a single CPL evening against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.