If Abhishek manages to make his way into the playing XI, it will be the first match he will be playing since his arrest in the case on August 11. The player was granted bail by a court on September 18. Wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel, who was recently granted bail in an alleged rape case, has been named in the Bengal senior men’s squad. He is part of the team for the upcoming practice matches against Assam in Guwahati.
The development came to the fore after the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) announced the squad on Tuesday.
The Times of India reported that the Bengal team will leave Kolkata on September 30 and return on October 6 While sharing the news of Abhishek’s inclusion. A young medical student from Karnataka lodged a complaint against Porel at Mogra police station on June 23, alleging that the two had been in a relationship for around three-and-a-half years and had planned to get married. The Bengal squad will be led by Sudip Chatterjee, with Abhishek and Shakir Habib Gandhi being the wicketkeeping options. Bengal squad: Sudip Chatterjee (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ankur Paul, Ankit Shukla, Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Abhishek Porel (Wicketkeeper), Shakir Habib Gandhi (Wicketkeeper), Pradipta Pramanik, Karan Lal, Aamir Gani, Soummyadip Mandal, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Md. Kaif, Geet Puri, and Ishan Porel. The woman also alleged that the two had travelled abroad together, but that Porel later denied their relationship, following which she approached the police.
The woman subsequently approached the Calcutta High Court, following which the court directed the police to arrest Porel on July 20. Following the June complaint, police launched an investigation, and teams visited Porel’s residence in Chandannagar several times but could not find him there.
The two had a dispute around a year and a half ago, which led to police intervention, but no complaint was filed at that time, according to the complaint. The court proceedings also involved allegations of criminal intimidation and other offences, apart from the rape allegation. (With agency inputs)
