He scored 301 runs in IPL 2025.
After a commanding win over Gujarat at home, Bengal have announced a significant change in leadership ahead of their upcoming Ranji Trophy 2025-26 fixture against Tripura, with young wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel set to captain the side in Agartala from November 1.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) youngster will take over the reins from regular captain Abhimanyu Easwaran for the next round, who will miss the Tripura vs Bengal clash after being called up to represent India A in their second four-day match against South Africa A.
This will mark Porel’s first stint as Bengal captain at the senior level, though coming as a stand-in captain. Known for handling pressure situations with a calm head, the southpaw now faces a fresh challenge of leading the state teams, featuring veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami.
Bengal will also be without seasoned opener Sudip Chatterjee, who has been ruled out due to a knee injury. Additionally, pacer Akash Deep remains unavailable to be a part of the India A setup.
With several senior names missing, Bengal’s pace attack will rely heavily on veteran Shami, who starred in the side’s last game against Gujarat with figures of 8/86, including a second innings five-for. His form and experience will be crucial in guiding youngsters like his brother Ishan Porel and Vikas Singh.
Despite these absences, Bengal enter the Tripura clash as favourites, having begun their Ranji Trophy campaign on a winning note, registering back-to-back wins over Gujarat and Uttarakhand.
The two four-day matches between India A and South Africa A will begin on October 30, with the second game scheduled for November 6. Both fixtures will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru.
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Bengal Squad for Tripura Game: Abishek Porel (capt./wk), Sudip Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kumar Singh, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Kazi Junaid Saifi, Shubham Chatterjee, Aditya Purohit, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vishal Bhati, Rahul Prasad, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Ishan Porel, Mohammed Kaif, Sumit Mohanta, Vikas Singh, and Mohammed Shami.
India A Squad for 1st Four-Day Match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain
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