Opinion: Could Tom Banton's childhood dream be the right move for the Mumbai Indians?
With Tom Banton's sudden appearance in the IPL scenario, there are some questions the Mumbai Indians will have to answer during the auction.
Kolkata is going to turn into a colourful spectrum on 19th December, when the eight Indian Premier League franchises award talent with tough bid wars. All eyes will be on the television set when the most-watched cricket league in the world takes another step towards the Indian festival of cricket.
While franchises have already retained their core players keeping the league's dynamics in mind, there are a few areas the team management will have to ponder about. At this stage, it's all about putting the best foot forward. An inflow of 971 players including 258 foreign profiles in the auction must ensure the superficial quality of the game but an intake of not more than 400 players by these franchises may see a lot of extraordinary talent going unsold. This is an unavoidable part and parcel of any global league.
Keeping aside several other concerns, there is a lot to speculate about Mumbai Indians' choices in this auction. The defending champions have the lowest purse amount (Rs 13.05 crore) and more than a few departments to cover. The four-time champions would not only like to bid for a wrist spinner and an Indian speedster but would also require a middle-order specialist to support the innings in the middle overs, without compromising on the run rate.
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In such a dilemma the management wouldn't or shouldn't be concentrating on other inessential issues like their opening slot which already have the likes of South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and local openers Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. But there's always something to trouble the professional conscience of coach Mahela Jayawardene and this time it is a statement issued by Buckinghamshire-born opener, Tom Banton.
Banton is a 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who is better known as the potential successor of Jos Buttler expressed his childhood desire when he said, “As a kid, I have always loved watching Mumbai Indians. Then I had the good fortune of playing at the Wankhede for the England U-19 team. There was tremendous support at the ground then, even though we lost 5-0.”
Tom Banton's fine skill set first came under the international spotlight during the Vitality Blast 2019, when the Somerset player went on to score 549 runs in the tournament, the second-highest in the league. His 51 ball hundred, helped the club end their 11 game losing streak in a match against Kent.
As a six feet tall batsman with beautiful stance, he is often compared to England great, Kevin Pietersen. This stupendous domestic performance also helped him make way to the English squad that toured New Zealand. The 21-year-old failed to make a strong impact as England's newfound opener but Trevor Bayliss's belief in his capabilities will help him stay around the circuit for quite some time.
Banton's 28-ball 80-run knock for the Qalanders during the World T10 tournament in Abu Dhabi was a strong statement to shun all critical comments. This fluent innings displayed almost all shots a typical limited-overs batsman should possess. Post his missed century, Banton spoke to the media. “I've seen other players smacking it 100 metres and I've kind of forgot what I'm good at and that's probably not muscling it out of the ground because that's probably not an area of strength for me so [I need to] just remember what I'm good at and what got me here," he said.
After such an impressive background, Tom Banton is ready to set foot in the Indian Premier League to prove his class at a greater stage. His wish to join the Mumbai Indians will surely play with the Wankhede camp's mindset. Mumbai are known for investing in pity buys (Lasith Malinga and Yuvraj Singh in 2019) and this psychology can influence the management again if they go on to bid for the Englishman despite no major utility. With a restriction of playing only 4 foreign players in a match, the defending champions may have to drop one amongst Boult, De Kock, Pollard or Malinga to allow Banton to take the pitch.
The question here is: Are Mumbai Indians willing to take a chance for Banton's childhood wish?