“I think he’s a really, really good young player; I have huge raps on him.” – Ricky Ponting regarding Abhishek Porel

Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Delhi Capitals, has heaped admiration on young left-hand batter Abishek Porel, who is making waves in the ongoing IPL 2024 with his impressive performances. Ponting made hints that Porel, filling in for the suspended Rishabh Pant, would start in goal against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Sunday.

Porel’s improvement over the course of the season has drawn praise from Ponting, who noted Porel’s adaptation to various roles on the club. Porel’s transition from batting at No. 9 to beginning the inning was emphasised by him, demonstrating both his growing comprehension of the game and his important role in the team’s victory.

“Abishek Porel has shown tremendous growth in this IPL,” Ponting remarked in Bengaluru prior to the game against RCB. “In fact, considering how the season began with Rishabh’s injury, it was certain that we would need to add additional wicketkeepers to our roster following the auction. We tried a lot of players, more experienced players than Porel, but I could tell he was a very special talent the instant I laid eyes on him.

The last six games in particular have shown, I believe, that quality is really beginning to show. He’s beginning to understand the essence of IPL cricket. He has also played a variety of roles. He batted at No. 9 for us in the opening game of the season and made [32] off ten balls there. Now, we see him open the batting, and he’s gotten better and better every game,” Ponting was cited by ESPN Cricinfo as saying.

Ponting reiterated his admiration for Porel, highlighting his skill and promise while making a suggestion on his position as a wicketkeeper. Additionally, he said that because of Porel’s outstanding results and promising future, he is probably going to stay at the top of the batting order.

“I’m really crushing on him. I think he’s a really, really good young player, and tomorrow, since Rishabh won’t be there, we’ll probably get to see him in action as well. The batting order and other things will be worked out when we select our team, but I’ll be shocked if he isn’t at the top of the order again since he has performed incredibly well and, in my opinion, has a very bright future “.

I believe he would have been more shocked to be mentioned than excluded: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting also paused to praise Jake Fraser-McGurk, another outstanding player for the Delhi Capitals this season, for his outstanding efforts. With his prolific batting in the powerplay overs, Fraser-McGurk has made an impact even though he was left out of Australia’s T20 World Cup roster.

“I don’t think Jake expected to get picked in the first place,” Ponting stated regarding his exclusion from the T20 World Cup roster. “When he arrived here a few weeks ago as a replacement player, I doubt that the possibility of being included in that World Cup squad was the last thing on his mind. Simply put, his performance in this IPL has been spectacular. Among his accomplishments this tournament, he has, I believe, struck three 20-ball fifties. He, Travis Head, and Abhishek Sharma have been the most impressive powerplay batsmen throughout the competition.

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He wasn’t shocked to be left off the squad, and he wasn’t upset about it, according to several remarks I saw from him the day the roster was revealed or the day following. Though I believe he would have been more shocked to be mentioned than excluded, I’m sure he would have preferred to be included. Like the rest of us, he’s focused right now on making sure we’re prepared for tomorrow. For us, the focus is on what we can do now to improve and ensure that we’re prepared to play our best cricket tomorrow, not on what occurred yesterday, said Ponting.