The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been a celebration of power hitting, where boundaries are for suggestions and sixes can rewrite the tale of a contest. Over the years, a few batters have made six-hitting an art and cemented their place in the annals of T20 cricket lore, providing both thrills for fans and changing the nature of the game, so without further ado, here are the top fives of the batters with the most sixes in one IPL season, mixing numbers, moments, and my own memories of seeing them in person to illustrate their impact on the tournament.
Most Sixes in a Single IPL Season
| Rank | Player | Team | Season | Sixes Hit |
| 1 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2012 | 59 |
| 2 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders | 2019 | 52 |
| 3 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2013 | 51 |
| 4 | Jos Buttler | Rajasthan Royals | 2022 | 45 |
| 5 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2011 | 44 |
Chris Gayle: The Universe Boss and His Six-Hitting Symphony
No story about IPL sixes is complete without Chris Gayle, the self-styled “Universe Boss.” His 2012 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore remains the stuff of legend – 59 sixes in just 15 matches, a record that stands tall to this day.
Gayle’s journey to this milestone was as much about redemption as it was about raw power. After being overlooked in the 2011 IPL auction, RCB picked him as a replacement, and he responded with a barrage of sixes that not only won matches but also hearts. In 2012, every time Gayle walked out to bat, stadiums brimmed with anticipation. His 175 off 66 balls against Pune Warriors India, featuring 17 sixes the most in a single IPL innings became an instant classic.
Gayle’s dominance didn’t stop in 2012. He hit 51 sixes in 2013 and 44 in 2011, making the top five list three times and cementing his legacy as the greatest six hitter the league has ever seen.
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Andre Russell: The Caribbean Storm in Kolkata
If Gayle is the king of T20 cricket, Andre Russell is the storm which can be created. The hitter turned beastmode, Andre Russell, smashed 52 sixes in 14 games when he had a six hitting spree for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019. He was a nightmare for bowlers and hero for fans due to the rate at which he could entail a quick change to a match in just a few overs.
Russell’s 2019 season meaningfully stated a timely, and in some ways, fun re-writing of the role of the finisher in T20 format cricket and there would be many teams who began to ‘search for’ players who are able to regularly knock the ball out of the ground.
Jos Buttler: The English Powerhouse
Jos Buttler’s 2022 season with Rajasthan Royals was a tutorial in assertive aggression – 45 sixes. Displaying classical English technique with contemporary T20 construction, Buttler launched balls into the stands with seemingly arbitrary timing. His four centuries that season all involved generous airborne harvests, with the most memorable coming in the playoffs, but it was the sheer ferocity with which he powered Rajasthan Royals into the final that lingers. Off the field, Buttler is humble, but on the pitch, this man’s brutality is resurging.
Conclusion
From Gayle’s swagger to Russell’s brute force and Buttler’s elegance, these batters have not just topped charts, they’ve changed the very fabric of the IPL. Their sixes are more than statistics; they are moments of magic that echo in the stands and in the memories of fans. As the IPL continues to evolve, the legacy of these six-hitting giants will inspire every new generation to aim higher, swing harder, and dream bigger. These are the men who turned six-hitting into an art and the IPL into a spectacle.
Written By Smita Singh
