The famous Chris Gayle of the West Indies, who had long held the record for the most international sixes, congratulated Rohit Sharma on breaking it in a moment that was both historic and heartfelt. He posted a photo of the two cricketing legends sharing a special moment while wearing their iconic national jerseys sporting the number 45.
Currently, Rohit leads Chris Gayle in international sixes with 551 but has only played 473 innings.
The southpaw took to social networking platform ‘X’ to show his respect for Rohit, who he is known for being friends with off the field and for his hard-hitting skills. “Congrats, Most Sixes in International Cricket. #45 Special,” “The Universe Boss” captioned his post with class and good sportsmanship.
Congrats, @ImRo45 – Most Sixes in International cricket. #45 Special 🙌🏿 pic.twitter.com/kmDlM1dIAj
— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) October 11, 2023
No cricketer, excluding Rohit and Chris Gayle, has hit more than 500 international sixes. With 298 sixes in ODIs, the India opener is third behind Chris Gayle (331) and Shahid Afridi (351). Jos Buttler of England is ranked 12th among active players with 165, and Virat Kohli, the former captain of India, is ranked 19th with 142.
When he brings in his 31st ton of ODIs, Rohit breaks records.
By defying tradition, Rohit not only topped Gayle’s illustrious record of 553 international sixes, but also the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most World Cup centuries. Sachin Tendulkar scored six World Cup century in the same number of tournaments, whilst Rohit did it in just three: in 2015, 2019 and 2023. The “Hitman” also established a record at the 2019 World Cup in England by scoring five hundreds in a single game.
In contrast, he surpassed Ricky Ponting with his 131 off 84 balls against Afghanistan to record his 31st ODI century. He is currently third on the list of players with the most ODI hundreds, after only Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. He also beat Kapil Dev’s record for the quickest ODI century by an Indian in World Cup history during the same innings, scoring it in just 63 balls.