A six. Irrespective of the fashion in which the stroke may have been hit, the end result it yields, one which crosses or goes beyond the boundary line is always fantastic.

At times, it is even mistimed and mostly, comes from the meat of the blade.

A six, after all, is more than a standalone piece of statistic.

There is so much more to it. Six hitting is an art.

No longer considered just a skill, it tends to paint the portrayal of a batter as an aggressor; someone who takes charge of an inning and dominates the game giving the fan what he most craves for, especially in this age of the game: ceaseless entertainment.

And what could be better at this time than to take cognisance of some of the finest aggressors of the bat; talents who've hit the most number of sixes in international cricket where it stands at present?

Let us, without much ado, take note of batters to have hit the most number of sixes in international cricket.

Top 5 batters in international cricket with most sixes

1. Rohit Sharma (India)

Rohit Sharma has amassed a massive 637 sixes in international cricket at this point in time. As a matter of fact, the man cherished worldover as the 'Hitman' has already hit 298 sixes in the Indian Premier League. And there's a good chance that he may go beyond his 300th six in the next few days as Mumbai Indians prepare to face their next big decisive game.

2. Chris Gayle (West Indies)

 There's only one Universe Boss and six hitting is his favourite habit.

Even know Christopher Henry Gayle hasn't officially retired from the great game in which he's forged his reputation as the great destroyer of bowlers, he's done enough to enthrall world cricket fans and for those hailing from the Caribbean islands to hail his legend. Forever.

During his famous assault over the Pune bowlers in the IPL back in the day, Gayle hit 17 sixes during his whirlwind knock of 175.

Similarly, his triple centuries, namely the 317 and the 333, he hit 3 and 9 sixes, respectively.

As a matter of fact, during the West Indies' highest ever ODI score of 389 (in 2019 v Eng), Gayle alone carved 14 sixes during his 162.

Powerful six hitting is not even an understatement where it comes to Chris Gayle, whose love for clearing the ropes found insane level of fame around the world. He's so far hit 553 sixes. Just imagine how many he might have scored had he still wore the West Indies jersey?

3. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

 Not called 'Boom Boom' for nothing, there were batters and then, a certain Shahid Afridi.

Known for his penchant for hitting sixes at just about any juncture of the game, Afridi was in some ways the first big pioneer of hitting plenty of half a dozens in the modern game.

He ended his career hitting 476 sixes in the international game, one of the biggest highlights of which includes having hit 11 sixes in a single one dayer against Sri Lanka in a game during 1996.

4. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)

 What's rather emphatic about this list is that there are two Kiwi batters in the list of world's top five six hitters where it comes to international cricket.

And one of the very prominent names includes a captain-par-excellence in , who ended his revered BlackCaps career with no fewer than 398 sixes. Someone always unafraid to step down to even pacers, McCullum was very much on the mould of a Jean Claude Van Damme with the cricket bat: as attacking as he was agile on the turf.

5. Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

 Tall, skilful and adept at changing gears rapidly in the sport, Martin Guptill who still comes across as someone a bit underrated in the game hit a total of 383 sixes in his career for New Zealand. That he hit so many from the top order where he was stationed for the better part of his career is rather envy inspiring.