England cricketer Tom Banton is on the verge of skipping IPL 2021 Auction to focus on domestic red-ball cricket.
Tom Banton Skips IPL 2021
The wicket-keeper batsman was bought by the KKR for Rs 1 crore at the players’ auction last December. The 22-year-old, who played just two matches for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the two-month-long IPL last year, said he wants to play cricket and not warm the bench.
“Growing up as a kid the IPL was a tournament that I absolutely loved watching. But I feel like I’m at a stage now where I need to be playing cricket instead of sitting on the bench,” he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“The last year has taught me quite a bit, obviously all these tournaments are great but a lot of them I’ve been sat on the sidelines and not really doing a huge amount. I miss batting and playing cricket if I’m being honest,” he added.
Banton, who scored just 18 runs in his two innings for KKR, was one of the six players to be released by the franchise ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition.
“I feel at this point in my career it’s probably best if I play a few red-ball games for Somerset and get back into that because I do miss playing red-ball cricket and my ambition is still to play Test cricket,” he said.
“We’ll have to wait and see. I still haven’t decided yet, but I’m just going to speak to a few people and try to decide from there.”
Tom Banton Pulled out of BBL10
English batsman Tom Banton has been released from the Brisbane Heat’s squad for BBL 10 after pulling out due to bubble fatigue. Banton was a revelation for the Heat during last season’s competition, hitting three 50’s in seven games as he scored 223 runs at a strike rate of 176.98.
This included the second-fastest in BBL history against the Sydney Thunder where he reached 50 from just 16 balls, including hitting five sixes in an over.
