Bengal qualified for yet another Ranji Trophy quarter-final after defeating Haryana by an inning and 50 runs at Rohtak in Haryana. Akash Deep shone with the ball with his first 10 wicket-haul in first-class cricket after Anustup Majumdar's first-inning heroics with the bat (145). But, team Bengal does not want to get carried away with wins like this and will only celebrate once they win the Ranji Trophy.
"It is a great feeling to get my first 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. But, I need to keep the momentum for the rest of the tournament," Akash Deep said to Sportz Point just after being adjudged "Player of the match."
"We complement each other well:" Akash Deep on the pace trio of Ishan-Akash-Mukesh
The pace trio of Bengal, i.e; Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Porel and Akash Deep have been considered one of the best in the country and Akash knows it well. "Yes, we have been very good whenever we played together. We complement each other well. Mukesh bhai's (Kumar) inclusion in the team has made us stronger as a bowling unit," Akash Deep expressed.
Although wickets seemed to come easily in the first inning for Bengal and Akash Deep, the scene was not the same in the second innings. After bowling them out for 163 in the first inning, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary asked Haryana batters to follow on.
The second inning did not start that well for Bengal. Haryana openers Chaitanya Bishnoi and Yuvraj Singh started to look solid in their defence and put up a 129-run partnership for the first wicket. But, Bengal's bowling unit knew once the door gets open for them, it will not be easy for the opponent to tackle them.
"We knew they will not have patience once we get the first wicket. Yes, the pitch became a bit easy for batting in the second inning. It was a tad slow and the ball got softer as well."
"It was about believing that if we can get one wicket, more will come eventually. Ishan and Mukesh bhai were superb with the ball as well," Akash Deep added.
It was Ishan Porel who broke the door for them with two wickets in a single over to remove Chaitanya and Ankit Kumar. Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep took the momentum from there on.
"I love the responsibility given to me of taking wickets in the middle period:" Akash Deep
It is observed that whenever this Bengal team gets punched, they come back like champions and keep punching until they win the bout. Akash Deep has been one of the enforcers for captain Manoj Tiwary with pace and bounce in the middle overs. The important thing is that he loves that responsibility.
"I love the fact that Manoj bhai (Tiwary) and the team has the faith in me. Ishan (Porel) and Mukesh (Kumar) bhai take the new ball. Most of the time they open up the game for us. But, when that does not happen, I know my role is to take wickets with pace and aggression," Akash Deep elaborated.
With everything going well for him as a bowler, the 26-year-old medium pacer wants to emerge as one of the valuable all-rounders for Bengal. "I know the difference between a 300 and a 360. So, if I can score 15-20 or 30 it makes a huge difference in the match. I am constantly working on my batting to contribute with the bat in hand," he added.
"Nothing to celebrate yet, the goal is to win the Ranji Trophy:" Akash Deep
"Good win yes but we have a long way to go. There is no place for complacency. There is no place for celebration. We need to work hard and fight together as a team," Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla said via CAB media right after the win and Akash Deep echos his thoughts.
"Abhi vi bahut lamba jana hai. Main goal Ranji Trophy jitna hi hai. Jitke hi celebrate karenge (Still a long way to go. Main goal is to win the Ranji Trophy. We will celebrate after winning the tournament)," Akash Deep told Sportz Point.
Outsiders loved, Bengal talents ignored in Bengal Pro T20 League 2025
In the recently concluded Bengal Pro T20 League 2025 drafting, it was seen how players who are from other states were taken in franchise teams, depriving homegrown Bengal talents. Sportz Point explains the situation with examples and proof.
In recent years and decades, Bengal cricket has frequently witnessed the emergence of players from outside the region, who quickly become integral to Bengal's cricket scene. This trend was evident during the recently concluded draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League 2025.
It is important to clarify that we are not referring to outstation players, like Rohan Gavaskar and Arun Lal, who came to Bengal from other states and made it their home for cricket.
Instead, we are talking about cricketers from outside West Bengal who are arriving here and illegally obtaining Aadhaar cards and other documents with false addresses.
Fake addresses, corruption and outsiders in Bengal cricket
These players are rapidly rising through the ranks, some based on merit while others without any noteworthy performances, and they are moving on to represent the state at various levels. Furthermore, those who are advancing are bringing more players from their home states to Bengal and creating paths for them.
This situation points to a larger conspiracy involving club officials who are allegedly accepting bribes. Some of these officials are supposedly encouraging players to participate without payment in exchange for assisting them in gaining entry into Bengal under-age teams or even the Bengal Pro T20 League squads.
It's worth noting that platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League provide players with exposure to IPL scouts and teams, which can significantly boost their careers. Players like Sai Sudharasan, Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi, Vipraj Nigam, and Ashwani Kumar have all emerged from their respective state T20 leagues.
Consequently, these outstation players have come to believe that if they cannot succeed in their own state, they can come to Bengal, create illegal documents, collaborate with certain club officials, and gain access to platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League.
This situation is depriving talented young cricketers from Bengal, who have been performing well at the club level, of opportunities.
In a recent video, presented in Bengali, Sportz Point addressed these issues, which was well received within the Bengal cricket community. We have translated this information into English to ensure the message reaches a wider audience across the nation.
Siddharth Patidar - supposed to play in both MPT20 League and Bengal Pro T20 League
One such instance is Siddharth Patidar, a player from Madhya Pradesh who has represented MP in the past and participated in the MP T20 League since 2022. He is now claimed to be a local player in Bengal.
Patidar is currently a member of the Jabalpur Royal Lions and will be playing under Saransh Jain in the tournament.
This Instagram post clearly suggest that Patidar will be playing in MP T20 League
How can a player local to the MP T20 League also be considered a local player in West Bengal? This suggests he was provided with illegal documentation to verify his status as a Bengal domestic player.
The MP T20 League is set to commence on June 12, and it will be interesting to see how Patidar competes in two different state leagues, claiming residency in both Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
Sandeep Tomar - played in UP T20 League, but has documents of West Bengal
Another player, Sandeep Tomar, known to be from Uttar Pradesh, also appears to possess Bengal documents in his name. Sandeep has previously participated in the UP T20 League as a local player, and last season, he played in the Bengal Pro T20 League as a local player.
This Instagram post by UP T20 League clearly shows Sandeep Tomar in action in that tournament in 2023.
This raises the implication that Sandeep, too, has illegally registered as a Bengal player with the Cricket Association of Bengal.
Not only these two players, but reports indicate that multiple athletes are arriving from various states and illegitimately registering as Bengal players with forged documents. Clearly, such actions cannot occur without the support of officials.
C.A.B.'s efforts to stop this
Recently, the Cricket Association of Bengal announced that from the next season, all players will be required to submit bank documents that are more than three years old, along with their parents' documents, before registering. However, the pressing question remains: If they can not even stop a daylight robbery, will they be able to stop outstation players' entry? Only time will tell.
As a result, many deserving players from Bengal, who have been topping charts in runs, wickets, and trophy wins, have been deprived of the opportunities they rightfully deserve.
Numerous players expressed feelings of frustration, sadness, and hopelessness after the events that unfolded during the draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League.
Bengal Pro T20 League 2025: 8 franchises choose squads among 802 players; here are the full squads
The Bengal Pro T20 League Season 2 kicked off its preparations with a grand men’s draft ceremony on Monday, where a staggering 802 cricketers were selected by eight franchises at a city hotel on Monday.
The Bengal Pro T20 League Season 2 kicked off its preparations with a grand men’s draft ceremony on Monday, where a staggering 802 cricketers were selected by eight franchises at a city hotel on Monday.
8 franchises, led by their retained players and coaches along with their owners, selected their squads for the upcoming season.
CAB Office bearers led by President Snehasish Ganguly, Vice President Amalendu Biswas, Secretary Naresh Ojha, Treasurer Prabir Chakrabarty, Joint Secretary Debabrata Das along with India cricket legend Sourav Ganguly, women’s cricket icon Jhulan Goswami were present for the draft.
"I hope you will all witness an exciting draft process in the next few hours. I am sure we will have an even more successful Bengal Pro T20 League season this time," Sourav Ganguly said during the event.
A+ category players will get INR 4,75,000, A grade players will get INR 3,75,000, while B and C category players will receive INR 1,50,000. D category players will get INR 1,50,000.
Exclusive: "Want to work with younger kids, find and create the next Sourav Ganguly," Abdul Monayem, after an illustrious 20-year club coaching career
After spending 20 years in club coaching, Abdul Monayem, Kolkata's one of the most successful club coaches, now wants to work with younger kids to find the next cricketing icon from West Bengal.
Abdul Monayem is a name that will go down in the history of Kolkata Club Cricket without any doubt. The former fast bowler joined Bhowanipur Club as a coach in 2009-10, when the team had just been promoted to the first division. Since then, he has helped them win three league titles along with multiple trophies.
Not only that, he helped East Bengal win the P.Sen trophy this season and qualify for the league final after nearly ten years.
Monayem retires from club coaching
Abdul Monayem with East Bengal chief Debabrata (Nitu) Sarkar. Image | Facebook
After spending 20 years in club cricket and emerging as one of the most successful club coaches, Abdul Monayem decided to retire from club coaching.
But why?
Monayem answered the reason, along with sharing his future goal, in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point, just one day after the announcement via a Facebook post.
"This is a very personal decision. Just woke up that morning and felt like I was not enjoying it anymore. So, decided to leave club coaching," Monayem answered when Sportz Point asked him about the reason for calling it a day at club level.
"Even after the last season for Bhowanipur, I was thinking about this. But two seasons back, Nitu (Debabrata) Sarkar invited me to take up the challenge to help the East Bengal cricket team become a winning side. So, I took up the challenge," he added.
Abdul Monayem won nearly every possible trophy for the Bhowanipur Cricket club, and when he joined East Bengal, the goal was to make them win trophies.
"When I joined East Bengal two seasons back, the team was already made. This season, I was able to make the team. We won the P.Sen trophy and will play the league final again. Very happy to get them back to winning ways," Monayem shared.
Will Monayem be there for East Bengal in the league final?
Abdul Monayem and East Bengal after winning the Kolkata Derby in league semis. Image | Facebook
Abdul Monayem will travel to France to attend his son's convocation and support him on this important day.
Along with players, coaches, and staff always miss the chance to be there for their families and with their son's one of the biggest days approaching, Monayem does not want to miss the chance to be there for him.
That is why he had already informed East Bengal that if they reach the final, he will not be there on the sidelines. East Bengal club also respected his decision and accepted the letter from Monayem.
"I will be visiting France for my son's convocation. My wife and I will both be there. I have missed a lot of things for cricket and coaching. I did not want to miss this."
So, I had sent a letter to East Bengal earlier that if we reach the final, I will not be there for the team. East Bengal also respected my decision and accepted the letter," Monayem shared.
Abdul Monayem with East Bengal team after winning the P. Sen trophy. Image | Facebook
Throughout his coaching career, Abdul Monayem not only won trophies for his club but also developed players who can contribute to Bengal cricket in the long run. He has helped several accomplished players return to the Bengal team.
Shib Shankar Paul, Saurasish Lahiri, and Arnab Nandi are just a few of the names who managed to return to the Bengal Ranji team after excelling under Monayem at Bhowanipur Club.
Players like Ravikant Singh, Sumit Mohanta, Sourav Paul, and Agniv Pan made their first-class debuts for Bengal after playing under Monayem.
"Before signing any player, I used to ask them if they only had a dream of playing the Ranji trophy for Bengal, then sign for my club," Monayem answered.
Monayem, who loves to read and write about cricket and coaching, follows the great P.K. Banerjee's style of coaching, where he tries to develop a one-on-one connection with players more than anything else.
As per Monayem, knowing the pulse of the players and then instilling faith in them is the main thing of coaching. If any coach can do that, they will win half the battle.
Since the beginning of Sportz Point, multiple Bengal cricketers have mentioned Abdul Monayem in their interviews, and more than winning any trophies, Monayem feels this is his biggest achievement in his coaching career.
"I did not become a coach to earn money. I did not do this for money," Abdul Monayem expressed.
"I became a coach to stay in touch with them. Chitrak Mitra, the former BCCI vice-president, gave me the responsibility at that time and told me that I was good enough to be a coach."
"Since then, my only goal has been to create valuable cricketers and give Bengal a few cricketing stars."
"I have only one regret from club cricket"
Despite all the success, Abdul Monayem has only one regret within himself. He wished to give Bengal cricket an iconic cricketer like Sourav Ganguly, but he feels he failed to do so.
Monayem, who gave Abishek Porel his first break in the first division cricket and told him that he bats like Brian Lara, believes Porel can be the next big star from Bengal. But, after all of these years, Monayem knows that to find and create the next Sourav Ganguly, he will have to go back to the roots and scout talent from the U-13 level.
Taking the reference of Mumbai cricket, Monayem said, "You saw how they have stands named after so many players. They keep on creating iconic players season after season. I believe in Bengal we can also do that, given we have the system and infrastructure."
This is why Monayem now wants to scout and find young talents for Bengal, only if the Cricket Association of Bengal finds him worthy enough for that role.
"I want to scout and work with young kids to find and make the next Sourav Ganguly"
Monayem with Rahul Prasad and other kids at A.S.O.S Image | Facebook
At A.S.O.S, Monayem trains 30 kids for free so that Bengal cricket's next generation is in safe hands. Players like Rahul Prasad have emerged from Monayem's A.S.O.S camps.
"If you want to have iconic players like Sourav Ganguly, who inspired multiple generations of Bengal cricketers, you will have to find them young and make them believe they can rule Indian cricket. I want to do that work for Bengal, if C.A.B. feels I am good enough for that job," Monayem stated.
Emphasising icons like Sourav Ganguly and Jhulan Goswami's roles in Bengal cricket, Monayem added, "Only if we can have global icons like them from Bengal, then only we will be able to secure Bengal cricket's future."
Abdul Monayem's club coaching career
High Court Club (2004-05 to 2005-06)
Marked the start of coaching career after a 20-year playing career.
Opportunity provided by Pankaj Mallick and Binay Mishra.
Coached under captain Rajiv Dutta (now an NCA Coach).
Key players: Sourav Sil, Bunty Gowala.
Focused on building a strong team dynamic, laying the foundation for coaching philosophy.
Mohun Bagan (2006-07 to 2007-08)
Joined through Dipankar Hazra and Anjan Mitra.
Seasons led by captains Palash Bhowmick, Utpal Chatterjee (2006-07), and Manoj Tiwary (2007-08).
Bengal Cricket: Aryan Club Clinch CAB Women's One-Day Title with Dominant 47-Run Win
Tanusree Sarkar's attacking 76 from 50 balls and Priyanka Bala's unbeaten 45 helped Aryan Club win the CAB Women's One-Day Title by 47 runs against Mohun Bagan A.C.
Aryan Club (Women's) delivered a commanding performance to secure the C.A.B. Women's Club Cricket League (One-Day) Tournament 2024-2025 title, defeating Mohun Bagan A.C. (Women) by 47 runs in a thrilling final at the 22-Yards SP School Ground.
Powered by a blazing knock from captain Tanusree Sarkar and a disciplined bowling effort, Aryan Club showcased their dominance in a match that had fans buzzing with excitement.
Tanusree Sarkar scored an attacking 76 off 50 balls. Image | C.A.B.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Aryan Club got off to a steady start with opener Dyuti Paul (23 off 23) and Sujata Dey taking the score to 28 for the first wicket.
However, it was captain Tanusree Sarkar who stole the show with a scintillating 76 off 50 balls, smashing 10 fours and a six at a strike rate of 152. Her aggressive strokeplay set the tone for Aryan’s innings.
Priyanka Bala’s unbeaten 45 provided the perfect foil, anchoring the latter half with composure, while Jhumia Khatun chipped in with a quickfire 18. Despite Diya Nandi’s 2/38 for Mohun Bagan, Aryan Club posted a formidable 171/4 in their 25 overs, setting a challenging target.
Sritama Nandi was the star with the ball with her 4/29 | Image - C.A.B.
Chasing 172, Mohun Bagan A.C. (Women) got off to a rocky start, losing Sneha Gupta (3) in the second over to Susmita Ganguly.
Captain Ankita Chakraborty led the fightback with a resolute 46, partnering with Diya Nandi (32) for a crucial 71-run stand. However, Aryan’s bowlers struck back with precision.
Sinjini Sarkar (2/28) removed both set batters in quick succession, triggering a collapse. Tanusree Sarkar (1/22) and Sritama Nandi (4/29) ran through the middle order, with Nandi’s sensational spell dismantling Mohun Bagan’s hopes.
Dipa Das (29) and Puja Rajak (13) showed fight, but Jhumia Khatun’s late wickets, including a stumping, sealed Mohun Bagan’s fate at 128 all out in 25 overs.
Bengal Cricket: Bhowanipur Club Snatch Thrilling 5-Run Victory in First Division One-Day Final
With 19 runs off the final five overs with two wickets in hand, East Railways fell short by 5 runs despite a great fight. Bhowanipur clinched the C.A.B. First Division One-Day trophy for consecutive seasons.
In a nail-biting finale to the C.A.B. First Division (Senior Knock-Out) One Day Tournament 2024-2025, the defending champion Bhowanipur Club edged out E. Rly. Sports Association by a mere 5 runs in a 50-over thriller at the J.U. 2nd Campus Ground.
Easwaran played a steady knock of 57 for Bhowanipur. Image | C.A.B.
Opting to field after winning the toss, E. Rly. Sports Association struck early, with Nikhil Singh dismissing Bhowanipur’s opener Jayojit Basu for 7 in just the second over.
However, a gritty 57 from captainAbhimanyu Easwaran steadied the ship, anchoring the innings with a composed knock. Aamir Gani’s classy 65, laced with five boundaries, and Vivek Singh’s explosive 58, featuring six fours and two sixes, propelled Bhowanipur to a competitive total.
Despite regular wickets, including a fiery spell from Tanmoy Pramanick (2/32) and Saiket Das (2/36), Bhowanipur managed to post 207 all out in 49.5 overs, thanks to a late flourish from Rajkumar Pal (26) and Ravi Kumar (18*).
Ravi Singh played a crucial knock for Eastern Railway. Image | C.A.B.
Chasing 208, E. Rly. Sports Association’s innings was anchored by a sensational 96 from Ravi Singh, who smashed six fours and two sixes in a match-defining knock.
Arijit Basu’s steady 44 provided early stability, but Bhowanipur’s bowlers kept the pressure on.
Ravi Kumar (2/40) removed opener Shivam Gautam early, while Aamir Gani’s spin accounted for Basu. The middle order struggled, with Jesal Karia (3/35) and Rajkumar Pal (3/25) wreaking havoc, dismissing key batsmen like Deepanshu Chaudhary and Priyam Sarkar.
As the chase reached its climax, E. Rly. needed 19 runs off the final five overswith two wickets in hand. Nikhil Singh (29*) and Swapnil Choudhary (30) fought valiantly, but a sharp run-out by Rajkumar Pal and a final blow from Ravi Kumar, who trapped Wazid Hussain lbw, sealed the deal. E. Rly. finished agonizingly short at 202 all out in 49.1 overs.
Aamir Gani was adjudged the player of the match for his all-round brilliance.
Follow Us
