PSL Most Sixes: Fakhar Zaman Leads, Shane Watson in All-Time Top Five

Fakhar Zaman owns the six-hitting crown

Few sounds in the PSL hit the heart like a cleanly struck six. The ball sails, the crowd lifts, and a game swings in seconds. On that measure, one name sits clear at the top. As of the end of the 2024 season, Lahore Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman leads the all-time charts with 104 sixes, the standard everyone else is chasing. If you care about the PSL most sixes, you start with Fakhar.

Fakhar’s record is built on sustained aggression, not just hot streaks. Since his debut in 2017, he’s stacked up 2,525 runs at a strike rate of 140.27 across 84 matches, with two centuries and 19 fifties. He targets the arc from midwicket to long-off, uses a strong base, and rarely lets the powerplay drift. For Lahore, he’s not just a tone-setter—he’s the tone.

Right behind him sits Islamabad United’s finisher-in-chief, Asif Ali, with 90 sixes. The numbers paint his role: 1,202 runs in 72 matches at a strike rate of 156.51, and a six roughly every eighth ball he faces. Asif’s game is built for the back end—short boundaries, high stakes, and bowlers under pressure. When Islamabad stack right-hand firepower at the death, they’re essentially betting on Asif’s ability to lift length balls into the stands.

Third on the list is Kamran Akmal with 89 sixes, the heartbeat of Peshawar Zalmi’s early years. In 75 matches he smashed 1,972 runs at 136.9, and he still holds the record for most PSL hundreds (three). Kamran dominated with clean pickup shots and fearless strokes in the first six overs. In 2017, he drove Zalmi to the title and walked away as player of the tournament—proof that consistent power up top changes seasons.

The top five also features Shoaib Malik and Shane Watson, two very different hitters who reached the same neighborhood. Malik’s value is in controlled power—angles, slog sweeps, and a gift for finding the gap between long-on and deep midwicket. He’s done it for multiple franchises, and his sixes often come without the chaos. Watson, meanwhile, was thunder. He front-footed quicks, bullied length, and picked slower balls early. His purple patch with Quetta Gladiators, especially during their title run from the top of the order, made him a crowd magnet and a nightmare match-up for seamers.

Context matters here. PSL’s early years were largely in the UAE, then shifted fully to Pakistan, and the big hits kept coming. Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and National Bank Stadium in Karachi have all produced batting nights where margins for bowlers vanished. Lighter bats, truer pitches, and dew-laced chases have pushed teams to keep at least two power hitters in the XI at all times.

How the big hitters do it—and who’s coming next

There’s a pattern to PSL six-hitting, and it starts with role clarity. Teams stack their decks so the top-order takes the early risk and the finishers cash in late. Fakhar, Kamran, and Watson did their damage early, when only two fielders were out. Asif and Malik have feasted at the death, where one misjudged yorker or a slower-ball miss lives only as a souvenir in row 12.

• Fakhar Zaman: Leans into length, picks up pace over midwicket, and goes inside-out when cover is up. He accelerates fast in overs 1–6, killing the need for catch-up later.
• Asif Ali: Minimal footwork, maximum bat speed. Short and back-of-a-length balls are his sweet spot, especially against pace in overs 16–20.
• Kamran Akmal: Times the ball early, sweeps hard against spin, and punishes width. The powerplay was his playground.
• Shoaib Malik: Stays deep, reads pace off the pitch, and turns singles into sixes with late hands. Lower risk, high return.
• Shane Watson: Opens up his stance, hits the line of the ball with a strong front-foot base, and mauls anything in the slot. Momentum machine.

Venues help shape this too. Lahore’s square boundaries make left-handers extra dangerous against offspin. Rawalpindi’s pace and bounce allow hitters to ride the ball over square leg and deep point. Karachi’s evening dew means defendable totals can disappear fast if a finisher gets set for three overs.

Matchups are the secret sauce. Left-handers like Fakhar attack the offspinner turning into them; right-hand finishers like Asif prefer pace-on in the 19th over, when captains gamble on the yorker and miss the length by an inch. Spinners who take pace off can slow the rate, but only if they land wide yorkers or hit a hard length into the pitch—anything in the slot is gone.

The ripple effect shows up in selections. Since the PSL draft rewards specialists, franchises routinely carry two categories of hitters: an enforcer in the top three and a finisher at six or seven. That’s why the league has kept faith with players like Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik—their roles win chases. Overseas picks follow the same logic: powerplay wreckers up front, and strong hands at the back end who can hit slower-ball variations.

So where does 2025 fit in? Early signs point to fresh power. Sahibzada Farhan has turned starts into fast forties with cleaner range over extra cover and midwicket. Hasan Nawaz, with a compact base and quick bat speed, has shown he can lift even decent length balls. Their rise doesn’t erase the old guard—it just means the leaderboard won’t sit still.

One more thing the six chart hides: shot selection under pressure. Big totals are routine now, but the league still rewards the hitter who picks the right ball. Fakhar refuses to chase wide slower balls early. Asif waits for pace-on. Malik doesn’t premeditate unless the field tells him to. Watson built his hauls by forcing bowlers into reactive fields, then going straighter.

For bowlers, it’s a game of denial. The best death overs in PSL are full of wide yorkers that push hitters across the crease, or back-of-a-length balls into the hip to cramp swing. When captains mistime their matchups—an offspinner to a set left-hander, or a rookie seamer on a wet ball—six counts spike in minutes.

If you’re tracking milestones, lock in these markers as of the end of 2024: Fakhar Zaman is out in front with 104 sixes; Asif Ali is second on 90; Kamran Akmal is third on 89; and Shoaib Malik and Shane Watson complete the all-time top five. The gaps aren’t huge. One hot season can flip the order, especially for batters who live in the powerplay or the last four overs.

The bigger takeaway? The PSL’s identity is tied to power hitting that looks fearless but is usually planned to the over, the bowler, and the boundary. That’s why the leaderboard features a blend of specialists: an opener who sets a chase on fire, a finisher who devours the 19th over, a senior pro who turns match-ups into margins, and an overseas star whose timing still echoes years later. With 2025 adding new shoulders to the swing, that echo is only getting louder.