On August 28, 2026, during a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2026 match at Brian Lara Stadium, famous West Indies hitter Kieron Pollard recaptured the record for the most runs in T20 cricket, reaching 14,921 career runs. Pollard, playing for Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) versus Saint Lucia Kings (SLK), surpassed wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler’s total of 14,833 runs with 65 off 26 deliveries, including six boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 250. With one victory out of four games, TKR is ranked sixth in the standings.
For several months now, there has been a battle for dominance on the T20 run-scoring leaderboard. For the first time, Pollard broke the long-standing worldwide record this year, surpassing fellow Australian Chris Gayle. This made him the greatest and one of T20’s more durable destroyers. With five sixes in his CPL 2026 innings, Pollard’s career total of maximums reached 1,010, making him one of just two players in T20 history to reach the 1,000-six milestone. Chris Gayle, a left-handed starter, is the second batter to accomplish that feat.
| Rank | Batter | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kieron Pollard | 14,921 |
| 2 | Jos Buttler | 14,833 |
| 3 | Chris Gayle | 14,562 |
| 4 | Alex Hales | 14,449 |
| 5 | David Warner | 14,284 |
| 6 | Virat Kohli | 14,218 |
| 7 | James Vince | 13,777 |
| 8 | Shoaib Malik | 13,571 |
| 9 | Quinton de Kock | 12,654 |
| 10 | Rohit Sharma | 12,531 |
Before Buttler surpassed him in August, the right-handed hitter had also surpassed Gayle earlier in 2026 to become the format’s top run scorer. His return to the top of the all-time list indicates that he has held the record more than once in a single year, highlighting the longevity and consistency that have characterised his T20 career throughout franchise leagues across the globe.
