Tom Banton should not play IPL and focus on Championship... he could be England No.6, says Michael Vaughan

Banton has enjoyed a breakthrough 12 months in the shortest format of the game, starring for Somerset in last year's T20 Blast, earning a first senior international cap and picking up lucrative deals in the Big Bash and PSL

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Tom Banton should ditch his Indian Premier League contract and focus on County Championship cricket, according to Michael Vaughan.

Banton has enjoyed a breakthrough 12 months in the shortest format of the game, starring for Somerset in last year's T20 Blast, earning a first senior international cap and picking up lucrative deals in the Big Bash and PSL.

Between late March and mid-May, he will be representing Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, as he continues to try to force his way into the England squad for the T20 World Cup - which is due to take place in Australia in October and November.

However, former national captain Vaughan believes that white-ball cricket should not be Banton's priority.

Instead, Vaughan sees the youngster as a possible middle-order Test batsman, and he believes the 21-year-old needs as much time as possible honing that side of his game back home.

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Tom Banton has played 12 first-class matches

Banton has played 12 first-class matches during his embryonic county career, averages just over 27 and has yet to make a century.

But Vaughan thinks he has the potential to slot into the No.6 role for England, suggesting that Ollie Pope is inevitably bound for a move up the order.

"Obviously the team will evolve over time and if I were in charge I would be on the phone this week to Tom Banton telling him to give up his IPL deal and play the first few weeks of the county season for Somerset because there is a slot available at No 6 in the Test side," he wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"I have seen enough of Banton to know he is a superstar in the making. I’m not sure a stint in the IPL right now, when he might not get a lot of game time, is what he needs at this stage of his career. The IPL can wait. He has plenty of time to go to India. 

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"He needs to play four-day cricket and score some early hundreds. If he does that I could see him batting at No.6 in the Test side this summer. It is possible."

Banton's IPL deal is worth around £107,000. He could miss as many as seven Somerset games if Kolkata reach the final stages of the competition.

"I really think he can be a Test player at No.6. In that position you can have a player who is a little bit different. He has everything. He is a bit like Kevin Pietersen in the way he hits the ball and sets up. He has presence at the crease," Vaughan said.

"If he switches his mind on and really commits to it I see a kid who has a lot of talent and could fly into the Test team."

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