Rohit Sharma reached a historic peak in Ranchi when he struck his 352nd ODI six, surpassing Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record. The India captain entered the game needing just three sixes to go past Afridi’s 351, and he completed the milestone in style against Marco Jansen. Afridi had owned the record for 5641 days, the second-longest reign in ODI six-hitting history, but Rohit’s evolution from a timing-based player to a dominant power-hitter now places him alone at the top.

Rohit’s early career didn’t reflect this future. After 40 ODI innings he had managed only five sixes from more than 1000 balls. But everything changed in October 2013, when he unleashed a record-breaking 16 sixes during his first double-century against Australia in Bengaluru. From that point, the numbers transformed dramatically. Between 2013 and 2022 he smashed 316 sixes, and since becoming India’s all-format captain, his balls-per-six ratio has dropped to a staggering 17.69 — the best phase of his career.

Today, Rohit holds almost every major ODI six-hitting stat: most sixes in a country, most sixes in the World Cup, most sixes in a year, and the highest tally against a single opponent. And with his current form, he is on track to become the first player to breach the 400-sixes mark in ODIs.

Rohit Sharma’s Six-Hitting Evolution

Balls per Six & Efficiency

Where Rohit Hits His Sixes

Rohit’s pull shot is the biggest contributor to his record.
A breakdown of his six-hitting pattern:

• Total vs pace: 232

• Total vs spin: 120

• Pull/Hook sixes: 123

• Most common region: Between backward square-leg and deep midwicket (188 sixes)

• Sixes in first 10 overs: 130 (only behind Chris Gayle’s 152)

• Sixes from overs 11–40: 170 (most by any batter)

• Sixes in last 10 overs: 52

Bowlers Rohit Has Hit the Most for Sixes

• Glenn Maxwell: 10 sixes

• Shadab Khan: 8

• Mitchell Starc: 7

• Pat Cummins: 7

• Kane Richardson: 7

• Clint McKay: 7

Marco Jansen became the 150th bowler to be hit for a six by Rohit in ODIs.

The ODI Sixes Record Timeline (Rebuilt Complete Table)

Below is the full progression of every player who held the world record for most ODI sixes, concluding with Rohit Sharma in 2025.

Can Anyone Catch Rohit Sharma?

Among current players, Jos Buttler (182 sixes) and Virat Kohli (159) are the only ones remotely close, but both are beyond 35 and unlikely to play enough ODIs to chase Rohit’s numbers. The next best under age 30 is Rahmanullah Gurbaz with just 70 sixes. With ODIs reducing in frequency, Rohit may hold the record for longer than Afridi and possibly even longer than Viv Richards’ 6091-day reign.

If he continues in this form for two more years, Rohit could rewrite history again by becoming the first cricketer to reach 400 ODI sixes.