Following exceptional performances in England’s One-Day tournament and then the T20 Blast, Tom Banton recently made his T20I debut against New Zealand but failed to do anything substantial. He scored 18, 31 and 7 runs in three innings, meaning the selectors had to look beyond him in the national team. However, he is once again making noise by performing well in the domestic circuit.
Latest media reports suggest that the batsman is all set to get a deal from an IPL franchise in the upcoming auction. Banton already has a contract with the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League and recently was also impressive in the Abu Dhabi T10 league where he scored two fifties.
“Playing in the IPL has been a dream from a very young age. You see the big crowds and the attention it has. I am in the IPL auction this year (December 19), so fingers crossed somebody picks me,” Banton told ESPNCricinfo.
“As a kid, I have always loved watching Mumbai Indians. Then I had the good fortune of playing at the Wankhede for the England U-19 team. There was tremendous support at the ground then, even though we lost 5-0,” he added.
Mumbai Indians have released Evin Lewis so there are chances that they could rope in Banton as their top-order batsman at the auction which will take place on December 19 in Kolkata.
In the recent T20 Blast season, Banton scored 549 runs at an average of 42 and a strike-rate of 161 and finishing the season as the leading English run-scorer. His 360-degree batting has caught the attention of many and could well the parameter for his IPL contract.
Earlier, a report had also suggested that either Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings are likely to rope in the batsman. CSK have released the likes of Sam Billings, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi and the others and it remains to be seen if they will invest in a top-order batsman. CSK’s need of the hour is a middle-order batsman.
