Jos Buttler says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could one day surpass his T20 runs record

England's Jos Buttler became the leading run-scorer in T20 cricket during Manchester Super Giants' match against Welsh Fire in the Men's Hundred at Manchester on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, and told broadcasters he expects 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might eventually overtake the mark.

Buttler reached the milestone while finishing an unbeaten 51 off 20 balls, hitting two fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 250.00, and in doing so moved to 14,833 T20 runs overall. That total comes from 522 T20 appearances and includes nine centuries and 105 fifties, placing him ahead of Kieron Pollard (14,803 runs in 746 matches with two centuries) and Chris Gayle (14,562 runs in 463 matches with 22 centuries and 88 fifties).

Reflecting on the achievement, Buttler said: "It's really cool, actually, to think you've got the most T20 runs out of anyone. Someone will surpass it one day - and his name's probably [Vaibhav] Sooryavanshi - but it's a proud moment," Buttler told Sky Sports as per Cricinfo.

Sooryavanshi has produced recent form that Buttler referenced: at 15 he scored 151 runs in three T20 internationals against Zimbabwe and won his maiden Player of the Series award as India completed a 3-0 sweep. Earlier this year he scored 439 runs in the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup and was named Player of the Tournament.

Buttler also commented on the timing of the record in relation to former holders, saying: "We played against MI London last game and it would have been nice to get past Polly while he was there sat in the dugout, but there's some great names on there, some special players, so I'm really proud of that," Buttler said.

In the Manchester match Welsh Fire batted first and posted 155 for 4 in their 100 balls, propelled by Matt Short's 71 off 47 balls (eight fours and two sixes) and Phil Salt's 48 off 37 (three fours and three sixes). Manchester Super Giants chased the total emphatically, with Tim Seifert's unbeaten 62 off 36 balls (10 fours), Paul Walter's 37 off 18 (four boundaries) and Buttler's 51 not out securing victory by nine wickets.

Buttler's elevation to the top of the T20 career runs list — 14,833 runs — came during that nine-wicket Manchester Super Giants win in the Men's Hundred on August 5, 2026, and he publicly identified Sooryavanshi as a likely long-term challenger to the mark.