Tom Banton makes IPL debut: Know all about this England batting wonder kid

Bengaluru, October 12: Tom Banton made his much-awaited IPL 2020 debut on Monday (October 12) as the Kolkata Knight Riders batsman took the field against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Sharjah.

It would not be wrong to say that Banton's was the most anticipated debut in the IPL 2020 because of the hype around the 21-year-old England batsman. Banton showed his value in white ball cricket in England's home series against Australia just ahead of the IPL in the UAE.

But talks about Banton had started much earlier in the 2017 England domestic season when he made debut for Somerset in a T20 match. He was marked for bigger things since then. But the breakout season came in 2019 when he plundered runs for Somerset in domestic competitions.

Banton hammered 454 runs in Somerset's victorious One-Day Cup campaign and then a 549 more in the Vitality Blast including a 52-ball 100 in a televised match that showcased his talent to a much wider audience.

The call-up to England national team came soon after. He also had a wonderful Abu Dhabi T10 last year as well when he made 80 off 28 balls that wowed the world. The knock came just ahead of the IPL auction on December 2019, and the Kolkata Knight Riders did not have to think long to acquire the services of Banton.

But it was tough for him to get a look in to the KKR Playing 11 because the foreign players slots were occupied by Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Sunil Narine, all valuable players in the KKR set up.

But the patchy form of Narine as opener came to Banton's rescue as cries got louder for his inclusion. Even then the KKR management kept their faith on Narine to find form but his action was reported to be illegal after the match against Kings XI Punjab and he had to be benched temporarily. It opened the door for Banton as the fans have been waiting anxiously to see those much talked about hockey-style scoops and flicks.