BBL 2020-21: Tom Banton opts out of the tournament due to bio-bubble toll

Tom Banton, the talented England batsman, has pulled out of the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League, starting December 10. The 22-year-old was set to play for the Brisbane Heat and he admitted that staying in bio-secure bubbles has taken a toll on him big time. The Young Turk had a discussion with Chris Lynn and head coach Darren Lehmann before opting out of the tournament.

Banton is currently in South Africa as a reserve player after he was a part of the IPL in the UAE for around two months. Prior to that, he also spent time in the bubble during England’s home campaign against Australia, Pakistan and Ireland.

I spoke to Boof and Lynny, says Tom Banton

“It has been harder than I thought spending so much time in the hubs and bubbles and I came to the realization that it wasn’t doing me much good,” Banton was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“I know the Heat looked after me really well during the BBL last year and I was confident that they would understand when I spoke to Boof [Darren Lehmann] and Lynny [Chris Lynn] about going home to regroup,” he stated.

“I’d like to thank the fans and members who are getting ready to support the Heat during the tournament and pass on my regrets to them that I won’t be there,” he added.

In the previous edition of the BBL, Banton notched 223 runs at an average and strike-rate of 31.85 and 176.98 respectively. In the tournament, he scored fifties against Melbourne Stars, Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers respectively.

Lehmann also showed some empathy and backed Banton for his decision of staying away from the bio-secure bubble for a while.

“Look firstly Tom is a terrific young man. He’s an impressive person and someone who we know would not have made a decision like this lightly and not without a great deal of soul-searching,” Lehmann said.

The Heat are set to start their campaign on Friday, December 11 against runners-up Melbourne Stars at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The Heat have more reasons to be worried about after Mujeeb Ur Rahman was tested positive for COVID-19.