NEW DELHI: Fresh from becoming the highest run-scorer in men’s T20 cricket, England star Jos Buttler has already named the player he believes could eventually take the record away from him — 15-year-old Indian batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Buttler scripted history on Wednesday during Manchester Super Giants’ emphatic nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire in The Hundred, smashing an unbeaten 51 off just 20 balls to surpass West Indies legend Kieron Pollard and climb to the top of the all-time T20 run charts.But while celebrating the milestone, the England wicketkeeper-batter looked to the future and singled out Sooryavanshi as the player most likely to rewrite history.
‘His name’s probably Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Buttler admitted the achievement was special but acknowledged that records are meant to be broken.“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 said.The praise comes after Sooryavanshi’s meteoric rise over the past year. The teenage prodigy recently starred in India’s 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe, scoring 151 runs in three matches to claim his maiden Player of the Series award.Earlier this year, he had also lit up the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, amassing 439 runs to finish as the tournament’s leading scorer and earn the Player of the Tournament honour, further cementing his reputation as one of world cricket’s brightest young talents.
Buttler reaches the summit of T20 cricket
The record-breaking moment came in spectacular fashion at Old Trafford. Chasing 156, Buttler hammered two fours and six sixes in his unbeaten 20-ball 51, reaching the landmark by launching Marco Jansen for three consecutive sixes.The knock took Buttler to 14,833 runs in 522 T20 matches, surpassing Pollard’s 14,803 runs in 746 games. Former West Indies superstar Chris Gayle, who held the record for years, now sits third with 14,562 runs in 463 matches.Reflecting on the achievement, Buttler admitted he would have preferred to break the record a game earlier when Pollard was present in the opposition camp.“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.On the field, Tim Seifert’s unbeaten 62 and Buttler’s fireworks powered Manchester Super Giants to 161/1 in just 69 balls, chasing down Welsh Fire’s 155/4 with 31 balls to spare and ending a three-match losing streak.