The recent years in IPL has witnessed franchise bidding frantically for mystery spinners in their ranks. It all started with Sunil Narine for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), then came Aghan sensation Rashid Khan for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and finally Mujeeb-ur-Rahman for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
Having seen the trend, Delhi Capitals too joined the bandwagon to bid aggressively for mystery-spinner from Nepal – Sandeep Lamichhane. In the limited opportunities he was provided with, the Nepalese star proved to be an asset for the Delhi-based franchise.
From there on, he bagged lucrative contracts from Big Bash League (BBL) giants Melbourne Stars. In his relatively young career, he has already bowled to and rubbed shoulders with some of the greats of franchise cricket.
When asked about the toughest batsman he has bowled to in his career, Sandeep did not name Hardik Pandya or Andre Russell but named England’s T20 sensation, Tom Banton.
Following the line of aggressive stroke makers the country has produced of late, such as Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, Banton is touted to be the next big thing in English cricket.
During the IPL auctions for the 2020 auctions, KKR were quick to latch on to the services of the big-hitting Banton, post his ruthless hitting during the 2019-20 BBL season.
Even Lamichhane had to face the wrath of Banton’s willow in the recently concluded BBL season, where the former represented the Brisbane Heat. He also brought up the second-fastest fifty in BBL history during his 56 off just 19 balls against Sydney Thunders.
“I think Tom Banton. He is a new sensation with so many cricketing shots in his book… He smashes not only the spinners but also the fast bowlers,” Sandeep stated while talking to Delhi Capitals via Instagram Live session.
Earlier, Banton shot to fame while representing Somerset in the 2019 Vitality T20 Blast – England’s premier T20 league. There, he went on to show his innovative prowess while piling on 549 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 161.47.
