The question about the position of the wicketkeeper remains in front of Delhi Capitals and he will have high hopes from Abhishek Porel of Bengal, who comes as a replacement for Rishabh Pant, but he has not played much T20 cricket.
Image Credit source: Abishek Porel/Instagram
New Delhi: On Saturday, April 1, Delhi Capitals will start their journey in the 16th season of the Indian Premier League. The new season is about to start but the answer to one question is still being sought. Who replaces Rishabh Pant? The absence of its regular captain Rishabh Pant has created problems for Delhi. Not only will he miss the captain and explosive batsman, but he also does not have a great wicketkeeper. Now Delhi has taken a step towards it and has included a 20-year-old wicketkeeper. A player who has recently started his domestic career.
According to the report of ESPN-Cricinfo, Delhi Capitals are signing 20-year-old Bengal wicket-keeper batsman Abhishek Porel as a replacement for Rishabh Pant. There is no official confirmation from the franchise yet but reports claim that Delhi had organized some trial matches in the practice camp, in which some wicket-keepers were tried and Porel spoke to Delhi coach Ricky Ponting and Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly was impressed a lot.
Back-up in U-19 World Cup
Now the question arises that who is Abhishek Porel? Abhishek, a left-handed wicket-keeper batsman, made his debut at the under-19 level. He was present in the West Indies with the Indian team that won the Under-19 World Cup last year. However, he was not a part of the main squad and was sent as a back-up after cases of coronavirus infection surfaced in the team. Apparently he could not play any match.
Identity made from Ranji Trophy
Porel got real recognition in the last Ranji Trophy season. He got a regular place in the Bengal team and played some strong innings. He could not make any big score but some half-centuries came in his account. Although he impressed a lot in wicketkeeping, but according to the requirement of Delhi, only good wicketkeeping will be able to work, it does not seem so. Not only Ranji, but also played a few matches in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI) and here also did not show much effect with the bat.
Not much experience of T20
However, he has played only 3 T20 matches so far, in which only 22 runs have come in 22 balls. At the same time, he has scored 695 runs in 16 first class matches including 6 half-centuries. Although Abhishek has taken 58 catches and 8 stumpings, which shows his ability behind the wicket. Now whether Abhishek will get a chance or not, it will be known only after the start of the tournament, but the challenge of wicketkeeper-batsman for Delhi Capitals does not seem to be going away completely.
