Wicketkeeper-batsman England joss butler etched his name further into the record books on Thursday, surpassing Chris Gayle to climb to second on the all-time T20 charts during the 2026 Centenary clash between Manchester Super Giants and London Spirit at Lord’s.The landmark came despite Buttler making just 16 off 11 balls, an innings that included a four and a six. Those runs were enough to move past Gayle and underline the remarkable turnaround in fortunes after a difficult spell over the past 18 months. Buttler now has 14,572 runs from 487 T20 innings at a strike rate of 146.74. His tally includes 102 half centuries and nine hundreds.Gayle, who held the all-time T20 run-scoring record for years before being surpassed by Kieron Pollard Earlier this year, he has now dropped another place to third with 14,562 runs from 455 innings. The former West Indies opener ended his career with a strike rate of 144.75, while recording 88 fifties and 22 centuries. Most runs in T20 cricket:
- Kieron Pollard (West Indians) – 14,803
- Jos Buttler (England) – 14,572
- Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 14,562
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Alex Hales (England) – 14,449 - David Warner (Australia) – 14,284
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Virat Kohli (India) – 14,218
West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard continues to lead the all-time list with 14,803 runs from 663 innings at a strike rate of 151.02, having scored 70 fifties and two centuries. Buttler is now just 231 runs away from claiming the top spot. The milestone marks another chapter in Buttler’s impressive return to form after enduring one of the toughest spells of his career. The England star struggled badly over the previous year and a half as runs became increasingly hard to come by. His lean run extended to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he endured a forgettable campaign, scoring just 87 runs in eight innings at an average of 10.67. However, Buttler rediscovered his touch in 2026. Representing Gujarat Titans in the IPL, he amassed 526 runs at a strike rate of 152.46, re-establishing himself as one of the most dangerous batsmen in the tournament. He carried this form into the international arena as well, producing a stunning unbeaten 131 off just 64 balls against India in the last T20I of the series. The knock is the highest individual score ever recorded against India in a men’s T20I. Buttler has also built an outstanding T20I career for England. Across 160 matches, he amassed 4,212 runs at a strike rate of 148.93, registering 28 half-centuries and two centuries. He currently stands third in the all-time list of men’s T20I run-scorers, behind Pakistan’s Babar Azam (4,596) and India. Rohit Sharma (4.231). The 35-year-old is comfortably England’s leading run scorer in T20 internationals and remains the only English batsman to cross the 3,000 and 4,000 run marks in the format. Former captain Eoin Morgan is a distant second with 2,458 runs from 115 T20Is.