Porel wants to play for India, but IPL title is top priority now
He is not short of ambition and has set his sight on playing for the country but for now, Delhi Capitals (DC) top-order batsman Abishek Porel is keen to help his franchise land its maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
The left-hander has been an integral part of DC’s impressive start to the 2024 season, which sees them second on the points table – behind leaders Gujarat Titans only on net run rate – after winning six of their opening eight games.
Though Tuesday’s half-century in the successful chase against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was his first of the season, the 22-year-old from Bengal has, more often than not, provided the impetus required. After a duck in their first match – ironically against LSG only – he has had scores of 34*, 33, 7, 33, 49, 18 and 51. His contributions have been a bit unsung, but Porel hopes they will be noticed, though he has other matters on his mind right now.
“Obviously, I am enjoying every innings, trying to develop in every innings. The future plan is to play for India, play for the country for a long period. But the current focus is the IPL trophy, and how can I help the team in winning the trophy, how can I contribute for DC. This matters a lot right now,” Porel said after the win over LSG.
He believes clarity of role has had a lot to do with his success so far this season.
“I know my game and the support staff also knows that. They always tell me to play freely and not to take any tension,” he said.
Porel came into the limelight last season when he got to bat at the end of the innings in their season-opener, but made a big impression by hitting a 10-ball 32 when the team was in a sticky situation. He went on to play all 14 games, scoring 327 runs at a strike rate of 159.51 to be the franchise’s third-highest scorer, and was subsequently one of the four players to be retained for Rs 4 crore.