England's stand-in head coach for the T20I series against Pakistan, Graham Thorpe, said "it's very early" to compare young Tom Banton with the country's proven great batsman Kevin Pietersen, who played his last match at the highest level in 2014 after a controversial but also celebrated international career.
Banton, 21, first caught the limelight last season playing for Somerset in the domestic T20 Blast. The highly talented right-hander was picked to make his England debut on the tour of New Zealand previous winter, apart from earning IPL and BBL contracts. He has since played six ODIs and three T20Is for his country.
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Banton displayed his class via a brilliant innings of 71 off 42 balls in the rain-abandoned first T20I versus Pakistan this Friday, which didn't help with regards to Pietersen comparisons and led Thorpe, another former England international, to urge people to just let the youngster be.
"Let him (Banton) be comfortable in the environment he's in and let him develop at his own pace as well," Thorpe added ahead of the second T20I in Manchester on Sunday (August 30).
"He is certainly talented, and you can tell he's very hungry...It's always pleasing when you see someone perform on the big stage as a young lad."
Thorpe was promoted to head coach post for this series after ECB decided to rest Chris Silverwood, to whom he plays assistant, after a challenging Test schedule that saw England play West Indies and Pakistan in six matches across seven weeks.
The 51-year-old was understanding of the fact that England can't expect to have the best possible playing XI available at all times for limited-overs fixtures given the pandemic-curtailed schedule.
"Obviously they're unusual circumstances this summer," said Thorpe. "It is important for the T20 side as well as the one-day side to try to get the strongest team out, so players do get used to the positions we want them to bat in."
"You also want, if people get injured, people who can come into those positions. If you can step up and put in performances like that, you'll certainly create competition for the squad."
Banton, after going through a less than ideal ODI series versus Ireland earlier this season, took good advantage of the first opportunity of this series as he strives to make himself undroppable even when England's best players return.
Thorpe said the way he played Pakistan wrist-spinner Shadab Khan, apart from tackling their quicks, really augurs well looking at the next year's T20 World Cup in India.
"You saw some of the skill shots — the ramp shots he played off Rauf — but the way he was incredibly clear on his plan against spin as well," he concluded.
(Inputs from AFP)
