IPL 2020: CSK and MI show their interest in Tom Banton ahead of the auction

IPL auction is set to take place on December 19 in Kolkata.

Tom Banton’s name has been doing the rounds in England‘s domestic circuit over the last few months. An exceptional One-Day tournament followed by an impressive T20 Blast season first earned him a national call-up. He is already set for a BBL stint with the Brisbane Heat and will also play in the upcoming T20 League. And it the latest reports are to be believed, Banton is likely to get an IPL contract with CSK and MI interested in picking him.

The IPL auction is set to take place on December 19 in Kolkata and the franchises must have hand-picked a few players they want to pick. The Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are two of the most successful teams in the IPL’s rich history. While the latter side has won the title four times, the MS Dhoni-led franchise ended up winning the trophy thrice.

CSK and MI asked for Tom Banton’s availability

According to the reports in The Mail, both CSK and MI have enquired to Somerset, for whom Tom Banton plays, about the exciting opener’s availability in the next year’s IPL in April. England’s international players will be available for the entire edition next year unlike the previous seasons when they had to leave just ahead of the playoffs.

But England’s domestic season also gets underway at the same time, it remains to be seen if Tom Banton will be available for the whole season. Currently, the 20-year-old is in New Zealand with England’s T20I side for the five-match series against the hosts. He is yet to make his debut after two matches of the series but is expected to get a chance at some stage.

Banton couldn’t really set the stage on fire during the two warm-up matches scoring only 11 and 6 runs. However, he had managed to hit a six only off the second ball. It will be interesting to see which team manages to secure his services in the IPL auction if at all he is available for the next year’s IPL which he will most probably be.

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