IPL 2020 | Playing alongside Shubman Gill for KKR will be pretty nice, asserts Tom Banton

Since being catapulted to the national side after impressive performances as a teenager, Tom Banton’s stock is at an all-time high, both inside England and on the international league circuit. After representing Peshawar Zalmi and Brisbane Heat in the PSL and BBL respectively, Banton has now been promoted as one of the consistent English top-order batsmen in the T20 set-up. Now that he has been a part of the KKR set-up for the IPL, all eyes will be fixed on him but Banton is looking to learn as much as he can.

"Looking back, I remember the Indians were a lot better than all of us in the [2018 Under-19] World Cup. I look up to those guys even now, and I am still good friends with some of them. Playing alongside Shubman at KKR will be pretty nice and I am really looking forward to it. There are a few guys of my age - Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shubman Gill - whom I have played against when I was younger,” Banton told KKR.in.

"I would like to be reckoned as a batsman who has the wicketkeeping abilities as a second option. I think this year, I wanted to focus a lot more on my batting. At the same time, I want to continue working on my keeping skills. It's been tricky this year. This winter has been hectic and I didn't really have the time to stop and think about what I really wanted to do."

A batsman of the pedigree of Kevin Pietersen, Banton can play those reverse scoops with effortless ease, and the one he played in the Vitality Blast last year has been heavily talked about. On being asked about that, the Somerset cricketer attributed the same to his formative years of playing field hockey when he was a drag flicker.

"I guess it probably comes from playing hockey. I was a drag-flicker and used to play reverse there quite often. My dad used to play hockey and I kind of followed his footsteps. I played hockey from three till about 17. I was 16 years old, when things were getting more serious and I had to pick one sport and that's when I chose cricket."