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Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson opened the innings for India in the second T20I against New Zealand on Saturday (October 24) and scored 14 runs off 17 balls. The cricketer from Kerala was sent back to the pavilion by Jacob Duffy in the fifth over of the run chase, but before returning to the dugout, he scored 1 four and 1 six for the visitors in the 181-run chase at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
The one six by Samson in the second T20I helped him extend his tally of sixes to 50 in 2026. He is the fourth cricketer from a Test-playing nation to score 50 or more T20I sixes in a calendar year.
Before Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan also smashed 50-plus T20I sixes in a calendar year.
Most T20I sixes in a calendar year (players
from full-member teams)
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | SIXES | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 36* | 1012 | 108 | 74* | 2026 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 31 | 1164 | 117 | 68 | 2022 |
| Ishan Kishan | India | 35 | 1159 | 103 | 55 | 2026 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 21 | 859 | 135 | 54 | 2025 |
| Sanju Samson | India | 27* | 784 | 97* | 50* | 2026 |
| Shimron Hetmyer | West Indies | 21 | 647 | 85 | 48 | 2026 |
| Sahibzada Farhan | Pakistan | 26 | 771 | 80* | 45 | 2025 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 18 | 733 | 112* | 43 | 2023 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 29 | 1326 | 104* | 42 | 2021 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 18 | 678 | 97 | 41 | 2021 |
| Tanzid Hasan | Bangladesh | 27 | 775 | 89 | 41 | 2025 |
Surya played 31 T20Is for India in 2022 and hammered 68 sixes, whereas Abhishek smashed 54 sixes in 21 T20Is last year. In the ongoing calendar year 2026, Abhishek has hit 74 sixes in 36 matches, and Kishan has 55 sixes to his credit in 35 matches.
The world record for hitting the most sixes in T20Is in a calendar year is held by Austria’s Karanbir Singh. In 2025, Karanbir played 32 matches and smacked 122 sixes.
Most sixes in a calendar year in T20Is
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | SIXES | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karanbir Singh | Austria | 32 | 1488 | 115 | 122 | 2025 |
| Karanbir Singh | Austria | 24 | 895 | 164 | 78 | 2026 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 36* | 1012 | 108 | 74* | 2026 |
| Fiaz Ahmed | Bahrain | 40 | 1251 | 105* | 69 | 2025 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | India | 31 | 1164 | 117 | 68 | 2022 |
| Bilal Zalmai | Austria | 36 | 1008 | 79* | 57 | 2025 |
| Asif Ali | Bahrain | 32 | 955 | 100* | 56 | 2025 |
| Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 26 | 909 | 100 | 55 | 2024 |
| Ishan Kishan | India | 35 | 1159 | 103 | 55 | 2026 |
| Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 23 | 863 | 91 | 54 | 2023 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 21 | 859 | 135 | 54 | 2025 |
| Babar Hayat | Hong Kong | 27 | 651 | 110 | 50 | 2024 |
| Sanju Samson | India | 27* | 784 | 97* | 50* | 2026 |
Had Samson managed to hit three more maximums in the second T20I, he would have become the first designated wicketkeeper-batter to complete a half-century of maximums in a calendar year in T20Is.
As of now, he has 47 sixes to his name as a designated wicketkeeper-batter in 2026.
Most T20I sixes in a calendar year by designated wicketkeeper-batters
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST SCORE | SIXES | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanju Samson | India | 24* | 761 | 97* | 47* | 2026 |
| Nicholas Pooran | West Indies | 19 | 458 | 98 | 39 | 2024 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 27 | 1195 | 104* | 38 | 2021 |
| Shai Hope | West Indies | 17 | 601 | 102* | 36 | 2026 |
| Kayron Stagno | Gibraltar | 15 | 411 | 101 | 34 | 2023 |
| Shai Hope | West Indies | 16 | 526 | 102* | 32 | 2025 |
| Sanju Samson | India | 12 | 436 | 111 | 31 | 2024 |
| Nicholas Pooran | West Indies | 24 | 466 | 64 | 30 | 2021 |
Samson, who scored half-century in the first T20I and won the Player of the Match award, was was caught by Glenn Phillips on the fourth ball of the fifth over on Saturday. He added 40 runs from 28 balls for the first wicket with Abhishek Sharma.
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