Abishek Porel Named In Bengal's Ranji Trophy 2026 Preparations

Abishek Porel during IPL 2026 for Delhi Capitals (Source: AFP Photos)Abishek Porel, who recently made a lot of headlines for unwanted reasons, has been included in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy 2026 camp to prepare. Porel, who plays for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, is expected to play when Bengal hold Ranji Trophy practice matches at ACA Stadium, Guwahati.Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Monday announced a 16-member squad for Ranji Trophy practice matches. They mentioned that the squad will leave Kolkata on September 30 for Guwahati and will return to the base on October 6.The Ranji Trophy 2026 will begin on October 11, with Bengal facing Delhi at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani to open their campaign. Of course, other Ranji Trophy matches will take place simultaneously on the same date in different parts of the country.Abishek Porel To Play Under Sudip Chatterjee For BengalAbishek Porel, who has played 32 First-Class matches for Bengal thus far, will play under the leadership of Sudip Chatterjee. Abhimanyu Easwaran, a familiar face, has been picked in there as well.Importantly, Abhimanyu Easwaran was Bengal’s captain for last edition’s Ranji Trophy squad. Porel, on the other hand, was the vice-captain of the squad.However, Porel could only play three matches for Bengal in last season’s Ranji Trophy. Over four innings, he made 84 runs, including a half-century against Gujarat.Also Read: Sourav Ganguly’s Bengal Takes Historic Step For Domestic SuccessIt is still unclear whether Porel will be included in the Bengal’s final Ranji Trophy squad. As of now, the CAB has kept Shakir Gandhi in the Bengal squad as another wicket-keeping option along with Porel.When Did Porel Last Play Competitive Cricket?Abishek Porel was in action during Bengal T20 2026. There, he played for Kolkata Tigers under Sayan Sankar Ghosh.Across six innings, Porel tallied 275 runs in the competition, striking at 159.88 and averaging 68.75. He ended the campaign on a high note, with scores of 53-ball 76 and 53-ball 94 speaking volumes.Nonetheless, Kolkata Tigers had a miserable outing altogether. They finished at the bottom of the points table, having only got one win in seven matches and an NRR of -2.352.Abishek Porel's IPL StatsPorel made his IPL debut in 2023. There, for Delhi Capitals, he played four matches and had the scores of 20, 7, 1 and 5.After that, in IPL 2024, he got 12 opportunities and did a decent job, scoring 327 runs across 12 outings at 159.51. He had six 30+ scores that season.In the following season, Porel could not improve his numbers, with 301 runs in 13 innings. Then, in IPL 2026, he only got four matches to shine, which included the scores of 30, 5, 51 and 22.Of course, that 30 was the most important, as Delhi Capitals survived ultimate humiliation thanks to him. Or else, RCB’s 49 all out, IPL’s lowest total of all time, would have been broken.Bengal Squad For Ranji Trophy Practice MatchesSudip Chatterjee (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ankur Paul, Ankit Shukla, Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Abishek Porel (WK), Shakir Habib Gandhi (W.K.), Pradipta Pramanik, Karan Lal, Aamir Gani, Soummyadip Mandal, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Md. Kaif, Geet Puri, and Ishan PorelAlso Read: Zimbabwe Refuses To Set Foot In Pakistan, Ireland Tri Series On Verge Of Cancellation