Jos Buttler Backs 15-Year-Old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to Break His Historic T20 Runs Record

Buttler created history on Wednesday during Manchester Super Giants' emphatic nine-wicket victory over Welsh Fire in The Hundred by smashing an unbeaten 51 off just 20 balls to overtake West Indies legend Kieron Pollard and become the highest run-scorer in men's T20 cricket.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Buttler described the achievement as a proud moment while acknowledging that records are made 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 follows Sooryavanshi's rapid rise over the past year. The teenage batting prodigy recently played a key role in India's 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe, scoring 151 runs in three matches to secure his maiden Player of the Series award.

Buttler reached the record in spectacular fashion at Old Trafford. Chasing a target of 156, he struck two fours and six sixes in his unbeaten 20-ball 51, bringing up the milestone by hitting Marco Jansen for three consecutive sixes.

The innings took Buttler's career tally to 14,833 runs in 522 T20 matches, moving him past Pollard's 14,803 runs in 746 games. Former West Indies star Chris Gayle, who held the record for several years, is now third on the all-time list with 14,562 runs in 463 matches.

Reflecting on the milestone, Buttler said he would have preferred to surpass Pollard during their previous match when the former West Indies all-rounder 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.

Buttler's record-breaking feat has placed him at the top of the men's T20 run charts, while his public endorsement of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has added further attention to the 15-year-old Indian batter's remarkable emergence.