Published 12:46 IST, January 29th 2021
Tom Banton reacts to KKR's 'Snub' prior to IPL 2021 auction, reveals MASSIVE England goal
England batsman Tom Banton, who was released by the KKR franchise, has opened up on playing in the IPL and what 2020 taught him about himself and his goals.
England's young batting sensation Tom Banton was one of the most sought-after overseas players during the IPL 2020 auction. The right-hander was bagged by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for ₹1 crore at the auction. Considering his ability to attack bowlers from the word go, it was expected that the Englishman will be the side's regular opener. However, the KKR management surprisingly thought otherwise, which is why the batsman didn't get the desired opportunities to showcase his prowess.
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Tom Banton bares his heart after being released by KKR
Banton played only two matches for KKR where he scored just 18 runs. The 22-year old subsequently found his name in the KKR list of released players 2021 after the franchise decided to part ways with him. Now, Banton has opened up on playing in the IPL and what 2020 taught him. While speaking to Sky Sports, Banton said that growing up as a kid, the IPL was a tournament that he absolutely loved watching.
However, the batsman admitted that he feels he is at a stage now where he needs to be playing cricket instead of sitting on the bench. Banton further said that the last year has taught him quite a bit.
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According to the youngster, all these tournaments are great but he has been on the sidelines in most of them and hasn't been able to do as much as he should. Banton reiterated that he misses batting and playing cricket. Hinting at giving the IPL 2021 a miss, Banton stated that he feels at this point in his career it's probably best if he plays a few red-ball games for Somerset and get back into it.
The 22-year old opined that he misses playing red-ball cricket and added that his ambition is to play Test cricket for England. Banton, however, said that he will wait and see as he hasn't decided anything yet but he reckoned that he is going to speak to a few people and try to decide from there. Incidentally, Banton also recently opted out of the Big Bash League in Australia after complaining of the biobubble life taking a toll on him.
KKR list of released players 2021
Tom Banton, Chris Green, Nikhil Naik, Siddharth M, Siddhesh Lad, Harry Gurney and Ali Khan
Players Retained by KKR ahead of IPL 2021 auction
Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert
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SOURCE: TOM BANTON INSTAGRAM
Updated 12:46 IST, January 29th 2021