IPL 2019: Chris Gayle's sixes record may take over a decade to be broken

A few more days and the entire cricket fanatic nation of India will be submerged into the fervor of the most renowned domestic cricket league across the world, the Indian Premier League. On 23rd March, the cash-rich IPL 2019 will kick off with an exciting game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, between the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and the star-studded Royal Challenge Bangalore.

Yet again, the tournament will play host to destructive players from across the world - Kane Williamson, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Steve Smith, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, Rashid Khan and many more. These stars are expected to light up the event and delight the cricket fans around the globe by showcasing their exceptional cricketing skills.

And just like every year, some records will shatter and new records will be engraved in the history of the league, through some exuberant performances. Yet, there is one all-time record that may take over a decade to switch hands – the all-time sixes record.

Currently, 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle proudly owns the records with 292 sixes, despite not being available for the IPL’s inaugural edition (2008) due to injury concerns. Even though the destructive West Indian has announced his retirement from ODIs post the ICC World Cup 2019, the 39-year-old has shown the intent to continue in the T20 format.

Considering that the World T20 2020 will be just 15 months away, Gayle might just play another season of IPL to keep himself game ready for the big tournament. And looking into his six-hitting average per season (29), the player may leave the tournament on the top of the charts with 350 sixes.

As one can imagine, the destructive Jamaican batsman is followed by some very exciting hard-hitting batsman – MS Dhoni (186), AB De Villiers (186), Suresh Raina (185), Rohit Sharma (184) and Virat Kohli (178). But there is a massive margin of over 100 sixes between first place and second place.

Despite being very destructive players themselves, every one of them has roughly an average of 16 sixes per season, which is approximately half of the Gayle. And going by their current six-hitting average per season, it looks extremely unlikely for them to come even closer to breaking the record in the new few years.

Considering the age factor and the existing massive margin, the 37-year-old Dhoni and the 35-year-old De Villiers are certainly out of the race. However, should the other younger players in their early 30s – Raina, Rohit and Kohli - continue their six-hitting spree in the coming years, they can certainly break the record in around a decade from now.