Kolkata, February 14 – England's Jos Buttler made history on Saturday by becoming the first wicket-keeper batter and fastest player in the world to score 4,000 runs in T20 Internationals, based on the number of balls faced. He achieved this milestone in just 2,670 deliveries, breaking the previous record set by Rohit Sharma.
He reached 4,000 runs during the Group C match against Scotland in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday in Kolkata. Buttler needed three runs to reach 4,000. He achieved this on the fourth ball of the second over (while chasing a target of 153). This was also Buttler's 150th T20I for England, making him the only English cricketer – one of five players globally – to have played 150 or more T20Is.
However, he departed early, scoring only three runs from four deliveries, chipping it to McMullen off Currie in the second over of the chase.
Buttler is only the fourth player to score 4,000 runs in T20I and the first Englishman to achieve the feat. Before Buttler, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Babar Azam were the other players to reach this milestone. Kohli was the first person to have 4,000 runs, achieving this on November 10, 2022, during the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 versus England at the Adelaide Oval.
Buttler made his T20I debut against India in 2011. He has scored over 4,000 runs, with an average of more than 35 and a strike rate of 148. His record includes 28 half-centuries and one century, with a highest score of 101. One remarkable fact among his records is that he is the only wicket-keeper in T20I cricket history to reach the 4,000-run mark.
Buttler, a former captain of England, is the top run scorer in T20Is for England. He is far ahead of Eoin Morgan, the former captain, who has 2,458 runs from 115 games. He is one of their best players in the shortest format of the international game and is also a much-appreciated player in the T20 franchises around the globe.