Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans New Signings Shine With the Bat Ahead of IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans new recruits, Sam Curran and Tom Banton, had an impressive day with the bat in the clash between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates in the ILT20 2025–26 Qualifier 1 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Sam Curran and Tom Banton star with the bat in high scoring Qualifier 1

In the match, Desert Vipers batted first and posted 233/1 in 20 overs. Their openers, Fakhar Zaman and Andries Gous, shared a partnership of 157 runs. Sam Curran came in at No. 3 and smashed 38 runs off just 12 balls, including two fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 316.67.

Curran arrived in the 16th over and hit a six off his first ball. In the final over of the innings, he scored 22 runs off Zahoor Khan, hitting two fours and two sixes. Sam Curran is currently the second highest run scorer of the season with 323 runs at an average of 40.37 and a strike rate of 133.47, including two half centuries.

In the second innings, Tom Banton came in at No. 3 for MI Emirates after the team lost their first wicket at 27. He added 81 runs for the second wicket with Muhammad Waseem. Both Waseem and Banton were dismissed in quick succession.

However, Banton scored 63 runs off just 27 balls, including six fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 233.33. He tried his best to keep MI Emirates in the game, but they eventually lost the match by 45 runs as they were restricted to 188/7 in 20 overs. The England wicketkeeper batter has scored 256 runs in 11 innings at an average of 25.60 and a strike rate of 132.64.

On the other hand, Sam Curran had a great day with the bat but did not have the best outing with the ball. He conceded 48 runs in his three overs at an economy rate of 16.

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Sam Curran joins Rajasthan Royals, Tom Banton picked by Gujarat Titans

Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, Sam Curran was traded to Rajasthan Royals from Chennai Super Kings for INR 2.40 crore and is expected to be part of the playing XI. Tom Banton was picked by Gujarat Titans at his base price of INR 2 crore. He will serve as a backup for Jos Buttler but could also be used in the middle order, an area where GT lacked options last season.

Both Sam Curran and Tom Banton have been included in England’s 15 member provisional squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, which begins on February 7.

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