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England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler etched his name into the history books on Wednesday, August 5, after becoming the highest run-scorer in T20 cricket during Manchester Super Giants' emphatic victory over Welsh Fire in The Hundred 2026. He surpassed former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard's long-standing record with another great display of power-hitting at Old Trafford.
The England modern-day batting great celebrated the milestone in style with an unbeaten half-century before making a massive prediction in his post-match interview. Jos Buttler backed teenage India batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to one day overtake him and become the highest run-scorer in T20 cricket.
Jos Buttler achieves historic T20 milestone, becomes highest run-getter
Jos Buttler produced another sensational innings as Manchester Super Giants defeated Welsh Fire by nine wickets with 31 balls remaining in The Hundred at Old Trafford.
Asked to chase 156, Manchester Super Giants got off to a flying start through Tim Seifert and Paul Walter, who added 74 runs in just 35 balls. Walter smashed 37 off 18 before Seifert continued the assault with an unbeaten 62 off 36 deliveries.
Jos Buttler then walked in and immediately stole the spotlight. The England captain crossed Kieron Pollard's tally of 14,803 T20 runs by launching the first of three consecutive sixes off Marco Jansen before finishing unbeaten on 51 from just 20 balls, striking two fours and six sixes. He sealed the chase with successive sixes off Lockie Ferguson as Super Giants reached 161/1 in just 69 balls.
Earlier, Welsh Fire had posted 155/4 after openers Phil Salt (48) and Matthew Short (71) added a commanding 125-run stand. However, their innings lost momentum dramatically after Salt's dismissal, with Fire losing four wickets for just 13 runs at the death.
Top 10 highest run-scorers in T20 cricket
| Rank | Player | Matches | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jos Buttler | 522 | 14,833 |
| 2 | Kieron Pollard | 746 | 14,803 |
| 3 | Chris Gayle | 463 | 14,562 |
| 4 | Alex Hales | 528 | 14,449 |
| 5 | David Warner | 439 | 14,284 |
| 6 | Virat Kohli | 430 | 14,218 |
| 7 | James Vince | 491 | 13,777 |
| 8 | Shoaib Malik | 557 | 13,571 |
| 9 | Quinton de Kock | 452 | 12,654 |
| 10 | Rohit Sharma | 472 | 12,531 |
After breaking T20 record, Jos Buttler predicts Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will surpass him
After scripting history, Jos Buttler was asked on Sky Sports about becoming the highest run-scorer in T20 cricket. The England star admitted he was proud of the achievement but also reflected on how dramatically his fortunes have changed over the past few months after struggling for runs earlier in the year.
Jos Buttler revealed that he never considered giving up despite the lean patch and instead focused on rediscovering his rhythm through hard work and determination.
"Funny how quickly cricket can change. One day you're the dog, one day you're the lamp post. A few months ago I was struggling for form. And then, in the last few weeks especially, I probably feel like I'm batting as well as I ever have. It's been a lot of fun."
The 35-year-old added that battling through poor form is part of a professional cricketer's journey and insisted his only focus was to keep improving rather than dwell on setbacks.
"You've only ever got two options. You either give up or you got the energy to keep going and try to rediscover your form. So that's all the things I've been focussing on. I've had energy and determination to try to get back there, and that's what I've done."
When the conversation turned to his record-breaking milestone, Jos Buttler smiled and admitted someone would eventually overtake him. He then surprised everyone by naming India's teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as his prediction to become the next all-time highest T20 run-getter.
"Yeah it's really cool actually to think you've got the most T20 runs out of everyone. Someone will surpass it one day and his name's probably Sooryavanshi. But no, it's a proud moment."
Also Read: Aiden Markram quits The Hundred 2026, Jos Buttler named MSG captain; Michael Bracewell replaces him
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's T20 career stats:
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1,670 | 42.82 | 216.32 | 4 | 8 | 132 | 148 |
"I'm really proud of that" - Jos Buttler on becoming highest run-getter in T20 cricket
Jos Buttler also reflected on the significance of overtaking Kieron Pollard, revealing that he had actually hoped to break the record during Manchester Super Giants' previous match when the West Indies legend was sitting in the opposition dugout. He said joining an elite list of T20 greats made the achievement even more satisfying.
"Actually we played against MI London last game, would've been nice to get past Polly while he was there sat in the dugout. Some great names on there, some special players, so yeah I'm really proud of that."
The England batter then explained the story behind his trademark shoulder shuffle and revealed that technical changes made during the IPL played a huge role in helping him rediscover his best form.
"It happened years ago (the shoulder wiggle). I was working with a coach who had me standing front-on and I felt horrible. So he was like 'just relax, shake yourself out' and that's where it came from."
Speaking further, Buttler said he revisited old footage after the T20 World Cup and realised that his batting setup had drifted away from what had worked for him in the past. He credited the IPL for giving him the environment to rebuild his technique.
"During the IPL I worked really hard on my technique. I do think that after the World Cup I had some space and time from the game and I just watched a few things. I'd say my setup had slipped a little bit. I actually felt like I'm not in a position where I'm picking the ball up well."
"I looked back at some footage, sort of reverse-engineered it as to where do I want to finish when the ball is released and worked back from there. Worked hard on that in the IPL and I've been continuing to do that. That's where the IPL has been fantastic for me."
Jos Buttler concluded by saying that as long as he continues enjoying batting and retains the desire to solve technical issues during lean patches, he will keep pushing himself to perform at the highest level.
"When you're out of form, I actually just miss batting. So you wanna get back to doing that, contributing to your team and experiencing that. So as long as I've got that enjoyment of the craft and the energy to try and work out of bad form or patches when it's not working, I'll keep going. When I don't have the energy - you can't come back when it's not working if you haven't got the mind to try and work it out."
