After Michael Vaughan's Suggestion, Tom Banton Confirms Whether He Would Play IPL Or Not

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan recently raised a number of eyebrows by advising Tom Banton to skip the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League in order to focus on Test cricket. Vaughan urged the highly-rated batsman to skip the lucrative league to play in the County Championship and make a claim for England’s Test team.

Kolkata Knight Riders had secured the services of the England star for the upcoming season at his base price of Rs 1 crore. Tom Banton recently further enhanced his reputation by impressing in the ongoing season of the Big Bash League (BBL).

He lived up to the expectations and impressed with his big-hitting skills. He played seven games for Brisbane Heat and slammed three half-centuries including a 16-ball fifty. And as Tom Banton kept impressing in the BBL, Vaughan asked him to focus on breaking into the Test side by playing in the county championship instead of IPL.

“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.

Tom Banton responds:

In a major boost to Kolkata Knight Riders, Tom Banton has confirmed that he would play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming season of IPL. Speaking to the journalists on Thursday, he said that he is hundred percent committed to playing for the Knight Riders this year.

The right-handed batsman also said that he wants to play Test cricket before making it clear that there is still time for that,

“Yes, 100 percent. When I was growing up, IPL was definitely something I thought I’d love to do, and play for England and definitely in Test cricket as well. But we’ll just have to wait and see,” Tom Banton said.

Also Read: I’ve lost years of my life: Ian Smith After Commentating In All The Three Super Overs For New Zealand