Michael Vaughan suggests Tom Banton to skip IPL 2020; KKR pacer Harry Gurney responds

Among all the bright prospects in the modern-day cricketer, England’s talented Tom Banton is seen as the T20 batting phenomenon. He may be 21 years old but has already impressed big franchises across the world with his sensational six-hitting ability and thus proving to be a real case for himself as a massive T20 material. The young cricketer first made his T20I debut against New Zealand in the wake of a magnificent One-Day tournament and a sterling T20 Blast season.

Banton recently signed for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. He had also plied his trade for Qalandars in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He showcased his mettle on the pitch by scoring two crunch fifties. He raised his bar when he chipped in with a sensational 28-ball 80 against Karnataka Tuskers.

The batting sensation had earlier expressed his interest in taking part in the world premiere tournament, Indian Premier League. He said that playing in the IPL is a dream from a very young age. He also his delight after knowing that he is in the IPL auction this year. The capped international who set his base price at INR 1 crore was drafted in by two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders.

Michael Vaughan suggests Tom Banton to focus on red-ball cricket

Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Vaughan had some words of wisdom for Tom Banton. The former asked the latter to skip IPL in a bid to concentrate on red-ball cricket so that he can cement his place in the England Test team.

“If I were in charge I would be on the phone this week to Tom Banton telling him to give up his IPL deal and play the first few weeks of the county season for Somerset because there is a slot available at No 6 in the Test side,” Vaughan wrote in a column for Telegraph Sport.

“I have seen enough of Banton to know he is a superstar in the making. I’m not sure a stint in the IPL right now when he might not get a lot of game time, is what he needs at this stage of his career. The IPL can wait. He has plenty of time to go to India. He needs to play four-day cricket and score some early hundreds,” Vaughan further wrote.

In reply to Michael Vaughan’s suggestion, England fast bowler Harry Gurney came up with two options for his food friend, Tom Banton. Gurney’s Twitter post read: “Option A: Rub shoulders and train with Morgan, Narine, Russell and Cummins on a daily basis. And potentially play in front of 70,000. Option B: Nick off to a medium pacer on a green one in 8 degrees in front of a few hundred pensioners.”

Option A:

Rub shoulders and train with Morgan, Narine, Russell and Cummins on a daily basis. And potentially play in front of 70,000.

Option B:

Nick off to a medium pacer on a green one in 8 degrees in front of a few hundred pensioners.

🤔 https://t.co/brZiUDPdyo

— Harry Gurney (@gurneyhf) January 23, 2020