The left-hander hasn't been red-ball regular in domestic cricket for Bengal
Abishek Porel is one of the core members of the Delhi Capitals side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) which was evident with the retention price of INR 4 crore paid by the franchise before the 2025 auction.
The left-hander has played two complete seasons for DC and has returned 327 and 301 runs in IPL 2024 and 2025 respectively while maintaining averages above and strike rate north of 145.
The top-order batter will most likely be retained for IPL 2026 alongside other high-profile players like KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), Porel has played three seasons, including two full seasons in 2023 and 2024, and amassed 335 runs (nine matches, strike rate 158) and 239 (seven matches, strike rate 152).
He has also played three seasons of Vijay Hazare Trophy, India premier 50-over tournament and has scored four fifties and a hundred in his tally of 592 runs from 16 innings.
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While having all these consistent numbers in white-ball competitions, the Bengal youngster is not satisfied. Even though he has 1,324 runs to his name from 46 innings at an average of 32, Porel wants to make big strides in the red-ball game after being inspired by Virat Kohli’s words.
After winning the IPL 2025 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the first time ever, Kohli spoke fondly about his love for Test cricket, a format from which he retired recently. Kohli said that he would put even his long-awaited IPL win five levels below playing Test cricket for India. He advised youngsters aiming to play for the country, to play Test cricket so that they can hold their head high.
Porel wants to follow this advice after his Duleep Trophy 2025 snub. The 22-year-old is currently playing the Buchi Babu Tournament 2025 in Chennai for Bengal XI and aims to keep getting better.
“In red-ball, I need more patience; it’s important in multi-day games. I don’t think I am doing that well. At 22, I’m not satisfied enough. I need to do more,” Porel told Sportstar in an interview on the sidelines of the match against Haryana XI.
Porel has taken Kohli’s advice of staying away from social media to focus on his game.
“I’ve been performing well in the IPL and white-ball cricket, and that’s why people have started recognising me. But, I try to stay away from social media. It’s a distraction.I’ve seen many players, even Virat (Kohli) bhai, say the same thing. Cricket gives you everything, that should be the focus,” Porel added.
“If I keep working in both white and red-ball cricket, the results are up to the selectors. Whatever is in my hands, I’ll keep doing, now and in the future,” he added.
Delhi Capitals were close to making it to the playoffs in IPL 2025 but finished fifth in the points table with seven wins and six defeats.
