3 players the Royal Challengers Bangalore could target in the IPL auction

#2 Tom Banton

Banton has had a superb 2019

Last year, Parthiv Patel was the Royal Challengers’ wicketkeeper-batsman but didn’t quite hit the heights that were expected of him, as he scored 373 runs in 14 games, at an average of a little over 26. His numbers weren’t terrible, but RCB may look for an upgrade when it comes to Thursday’s auction.

One player they might turn to is England’s Tom Banton, whose stock has risen exponentially over the last 12 months. The 21-year-old was the second-highest run-scorer in the T20 Blast in England, scoring 549 runs in 13 games, which included a brilliant century against Kent.

That run of form earned the right-hander a first international call-up for the recent tour of New Zealand, during which he appeared three times in T20s. He was also picked up by the Brisbane Heat for the Big Bash, meaning that he will have had opportunities in the highest level of tournaments by the time the IPL comes around next year.