Malan and Buttler are the two names worth knowing on English soil, but for different reasons. Dawid Malan’s 77 not out at Trent Bridge in 2022 stands as the single best score by an England batter against India at home, delivered in a series decider after England had lost the first two matches. Buttler’s reputation rests on a much bigger career total, but most of it was built in India, not England. With the tourists arriving at Durham on 1 July, the venue-specific numbers matter more than the raw career totals.
Nine Head-to-Head Meetings Before This Series
England have hosted India in T20Is nine times before this series, split narrowly 5-4 in the hosts’ favour, across three separate visits spread out over more than a decade of intermittent scheduling. There was a solitary game at Old Trafford in 2011, a three-match series in 2018 played at Old Trafford, Cardiff and Bristol, and another three-match series in 2022 at Southampton, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, each with its own conditions and its own storylines.
Buttler made his T20I debut in that 2011 Old Trafford match, which means he has already been part of England’s story against India on home soil for over a decade, even if his numbers there haven’t always matched his broader reputation against this opponent.
England Batters T20I Record vs India England Venues
The confirmed innings data below strips out everything except matches actually played on English soil, and the picture looks noticeably different from most career-total lists that dominate the usual head-to-head conversation.
Batter | Country | Confirmed Runs in England vs India | Average | Strike Rate | Best Score (Venue) |
Jos Buttler | England | 73 (from 2 confirmed innings) | 36.50 | 140.77 | 69 (Old Trafford, 2018) |
Dawid Malan | England | 98 (from 2 confirmed innings) | 49.00 | 131.84 | 77* (Trent Bridge, 2022) |
Rohit Sharma | India | 100+ (2018 series alone) | 34.33 | 141.58 | 100* (Bristol, 2018) |
Phil Salt | England | Not found, no confirmed England-venue innings vs India | 30.66 | 121.05 | 43 (Mumbai, 2024) |
Malan’s average and strike rate both lead England’s confirmed sample, built almost entirely from that one Trent Bridge innings, while Rohit’s numbers reflect a single dominant tournament series rather than a broad body of work.
Buttler’s Home Soil Numbers Tell a Different Story
His most substantial English-venue score against India came in the 2018 series opener at Old Trafford, where his 69 was the top score in a losing cause as Kuldeep Yadav’s 5-24 tore through England’s middle order and left little for the rest of the lineup to build on. In the 2022 series, he managed just 4 at Edgbaston before India closed out the win comfortably.
That’s a sharp contrast to the 2025 series in India, where he scored 279 runs at a strike rate of 219. Buttler’s broader career numbers against India are real and genuinely impressive, but they are overwhelmingly an India-conditions story, not an English one.
Conditions Explain Why Some Scores Stand Out
Old Trafford in 2018 was genuinely swing- and spin-friendly. Kuldeep’s five-wicket haul came from turn and deception rather than raw pace, and England’s totals in that series were built cautiously through the middle overs instead of exploding in the powerplay the way modern totals often do now.
Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 100 at Bristol later that same series showed the flip side, flatter conditions where set batters could accelerate freely once past the new ball. Malan’s Trent Bridge innings sits closer to the Old Trafford end of that spectrum, a grinding, high-pressure knock built under scoreboard pressure rather than a flat-track carnival.
Salt and Brook Face an Unproven Test
Phil Salt does not have a comparable English-venue sample against India. His T20I career against India has been built almost entirely on Indian grounds, including a recent, low-key contribution of 5 off 3 balls at Wankhede in March 2026, hardly the kind of evidence that settles anything.
Harry Brook and Salt represent England’s most likely current headline scorers, but neither carries the specific home pedigree that Malan quietly holds or that Buttler built only in patches across a decade of visits. The 2026 England batters T20I record vs India England venues will only be settled by fresh performances at Durham, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge, Bristol and Southampton, not by borrowing credibility from matches played thousands of miles away.
Which current England batter do you think builds the strongest home record against India this series? Drop your pick in the comments.
FAQs
Who has scored the most runs against India in T20Is in England?
Dawid Malan holds the standout score, his 77 not out at Trent Bridge in 2022. Jos Buttler also has meaningful English-soil contributions, though a complete total across all nine meetings wasn’t fully available.
What is Jos Buttler’s T20I record against India in England?
On English soil, Buttler’s confirmed contributions are a match-topping 69 at Old Trafford in 2018 and 4 at Edgbaston in 2022. His larger career tally against India, over 600 runs, is mostly built in India.
Where are England vs India T20I matches being played in 2026?
The five matches run from 1 to 11 July 2026 at Durham, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge, Bristol and Southampton. Edgbaston and Lord’s host India’s ODI leg in July; neither Edgbaston nor The Oval features.
Who is England’s best T20I batter against India?
By overall career runs, Buttler leads England’s batters against India. By English-venue performance specifically, Malan’s 77 not out at Trent Bridge in the 2022 decider is the standout individual score on home soil.
What is Phil Salt’s T20I batting record against India?
Salt doesn’t have a significant sample of innings against India played in England. His recent form has come on Indian venues, including a low score of 5 off 3 balls at Wankhede in March 2026.