England’s Tom Banton once again highlighted his credentials as a potential IPL star as he smashed a 16-ball half-century in the BBL.
The 21-year-old hit the second-fastest 50 in BBL history as Brisbane Heat beat Sydney Thunder on Monday.
He was eventually out for 56 off 19 balls after a knock that saw him also hit seven sixes, including five in succession off the bowling of Arjun Nair.
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It was another cameo that makes him look even more of a bargain acquisition for Kolkata Knight Riders.
KKR are priced at 8.00 (7/1) with Bet365 to claim the IPL 2020 title with Banton in their ranks.
Their chances look even better should Banton transfer his Big Bash form to the Indian Premier League.
This is just extraordinary.
Tom Banton launches five consecutive sixes! #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/STYOFVvchy
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 6, 2020
| IPL Team | Winner Odds |
| Mumbai Indians | 5.0 |
| Hyderabad Sunrisers | 5.0 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 6.0 |
| Delhi Captials | 8.0 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 8.0 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 8.0 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 10.0 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 10.0 |
Banton was bought for his base price of just Rs 1 crore at the IPL 2020 Auction and is looking more and more like a great bit of business.
The Somerset player has had a year to remember that also saw him make his England debut in a T20I against New Zealand in November.
That call to the national side followed an eye-catching display for his county. Banton was the leading English run-scorer for Somerset in last year's Vitality Blast competition and helped guide the team to one-day honours in 2019.
The former England under-19 captain's breakout campaign came after working on his technique with mentor Marcus Trescothick.
He continued his county form with some brilliant displays for Qualanders in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, including one knock of 80 in just 28 balls.
He has now continued that form in the BBL and hit 151 runs in five matches so far. He is also due to feature in England's ODI games in South Africa ahead of his IPL debut.
Now, his arrival for IPL 2020 strengthens KKR despite them already boasting the likes of Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell.
Kolkata had already spent the most amount on a single player at the auction when they recruited Aussie pace ace Pat Cummins for Rs 15,50,00,000.
| Dinesh Karthik (c) | Rinku Singh |
| Shubman Gill | Siddhesh Lad |
| Harry Gurney | Prasidh Krishna |
| Sandeep Warrier | Shivam Mavi |
| Kamlesh Nagarkoti | Lockie Ferguson |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Nitish Rana |
| Andre Russell | Sunil Narine |
| Eoin Morgan | Rahul Tripathi |
| Pat Cummins | Varun Chakravarthy |
| Manimaran Siddharth | Pravin Tambe |
| Tom Banton | Chris Green |
| Nikhil Naik |
Kolkata are aiming to win their third IPL title but first their since 2014.
While KKR have not won a title since 2014, they have reached the play-offs three out of the last four seasons.
They now have former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum as a head coach as well.
| Year | Position |
| 2008 | 6th |
| 2009 | 8th |
| 2010 | 6th |
| 2011 | 4th |
| 2012 | Winner |
| 2013 | 7th |
| 2014 | Winner |
| 2015 | 5th |
| 2016 | 4th |
| 2017 | 3rd |
| 2018 | 3rd |
| 2019 | 5th |
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