With the advent of T20 cricket, all cricket viewers have shifted their taste preference towards short forms of cricket. In today's time, people want to see some powerful hitting from batters, and that's why so many fielding and bowling restrictions have been created. So, some six hitters have entertained all cricket viewers through their powerful hitting, and every bowler fears them. So, let's look at six hitters in ODI cricket.
1. Shahid Afridi (351)
Shahid Afridi is one of the biggest entertainers that cricket has ever witnessed. He was the kind of player who always played the game aggressively. With his attacking style, Shahid Afridi has also won many matches. Till now, he holds the record of smashing the highest number of sixes in ODIs. In ODI cricket, Shahid Afridi hit 351 sixes, the most by any batsman in one-day internationals. In his ODI career, Shahid Afridi played 398 matches, scoring 8,064 runs with a brilliant strike rate of 117 and taking 395 wickets.
2. Chris Gayle (331)
Like Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle is one of the biggest entertainers and dangerous batters cricket has ever seen. In his prime, every bowler used to fear him as he used to smash every bowler out of the park. Even in ODIs, Chris Gayle always played with his ruthless approach, and his stats show the same. In his ODI career, Chris Gayle has smashed 331 sixes, which is the most by a West Indie's batsman. In his ODI career, Chris Gayle played 301 matches, scoring 10,480 runs with an average of 37.8 and a strike rate of 87.
3. Rohit Sharma (323)
Unlike Afridi and Gayle, Rohit Sharma is not known for hitting the long and ruthless sixes. But yet he comes 3rd on the list of six hitters in ODIs. Rohit's biggest strength is his timing, which allows him to hit effortless sixes. In the 2023 World Cup, Rohit Sharma recently broke Gayle's record for most sixes in international cricket. Even in ODI cricket, Rohit Sharma is one of the most successful batsmen that India has ever produced. In ODIs, he has hit 323 sixes, which makes him 3rd batsman with the most ODI sixes. So far, Rohit Sharma has played 262 ODI matches in which he has scored 10,709 runs with a fantastic average of 49.
4. Sanath Jayasuriya (270)
Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the most influential batsmen who revolutionized the style of playing ODI cricket. He was one of the first openers to maximize the powerplay overs by playing aggressively from the very 1st over of the match. Sanath Jayasuriya has always played with his attacking style throughout his ODI career and has won many memorable matches for Sri Lanka. In his ODI career, Sanath Jayasuriya played 445 games, where he hit 270 sixes and scored 13,430 runs with a strike rate of 91.
5. MS Dhoni (229)
MS Dhoni is one of the best captains that India has ever produced. Apart from his captaincy, he is also one of the most dangerous batsmen that India has ever seen. In his prime, MS Dhoni has smashed many sixes and won many matches. No one can forget those matches where he hit a winning six for India. In ODIs, MS Dhoni has smashed 229 sixes. MS Dhoni has played 350 games in his ODI career, scoring 10,773 with a fantastic average of 50.
6. Eoin Morgan (220)
Like MS Dhoni, Eoin Morgan is also one of the best captains that England has ever produced. Amongst many great English captains, Eoin Morgan was the only skipper who could win the ODI World Cup for England. Apart from captaincy, he has also played match-winning innings for England. Eoin Morgan also holds the record of hitting the most sixes in an ODI innings and has smashed 220 ODI sixes. In his ODI career, Eoin Morgan has played 248 matches, scoring 7,701 runs with an average of 39 and a strike rate of 91.
7. AB de Villiers (204)
Regarding the most dangerous batsman and biggest entertainer, no one comes near to AB de Villiers. He also holds the unbreakable record of the fastest ODI in 50 years, centuries, and 150 years. With his ruthless batting style, AB de Villiers won many impossible matches for India. In his prime form, no bowler was difficult for him to play. He is even one of the few batsmen who has a strike of more than 100 in ODIs. In his ODIs, AB de Villiers has hit 204 sixes. In his ODI career, AB de Villiers has played 228 matches in which he scored 9,577 runs with an outstanding average of 53 and a strike rate of 101.
8. Brendon McCullum (200)
Brendon McCullum is one of the most ruthless batsmen that New Zealand has ever produced. Even in the 2015 World Cup, he played aggressively, which helped New Zealand play excellently. Even throughout his career, Brendon McCullum has always had an attacking style, and his ODI stats also show that same. In ODI cricket, he has hit 200 sixes, the most by any New Zealand batsman. In his ODI career, Brendon McCullum played 260 matches, scoring 6,083 runs with a strike rate of 96.
9. Sachin Tendulkar (195)
Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman that the world has ever seen. It has been over ten years since his retirement; no one has come to his record. In the ODI, Sachin Tendulkar Still holds the record for most runs. In his ODI career, he also has the record of playing the most ODI matches. In ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar has smashed 195 sixes. In his ODI career, Sachin Tendulkar played 463 games, scoring 18,426 runs with an average of 44.
10. Sourav Ganguly (190)
Sourav Ganguly is one of the finest batsmen that India has ever produced. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar was a nightmare for every bowler. In ODI cricket, Sourav Ganguly has played many match-winning for India. No one can forget his captaincy and batting performance in the 2003 World Cup. In ODI cricket, Sourav Ganguly has hit 190 sixes. In his ODI career, Sourav Ganguly has played 311 matches, scoring 11,363 runs with an average of 41.
