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Abishek Porel in his second first-class match saved Bengal again with the bat with a fiery 73 off 62 deliveries. Meanwhile, the Bengal team suffered another middle-order collapse in between. Abishek was fast-tracked into the after a tremendous Cooch Behar Trophy and was also a part of the extended squad that won the ICC U19 World Cup 2022. Bibhas Das, a renowned coach from Bengal who is also supposed to be Abishek's childhood coach raises questions over why other younger Bengal players were not given chance over a conversation with Sportz Point.
Abishek missed a century while he was batting with the lower order. Though everyone thought he might come up the order after his heroic in the first match against Baroda. However, Abishek was sent in to bat at number 8 despite his performances at the top of the order throughout his whole under ager cricket.
"If the team needs him to bat at that position, he will have to learn batting with the tail like VVS Laxman. Abishek will have to learn how to play each over without giving the strike to the tailender. Otherwise, he will keep missing these hundreds," Bibhas Das told Sportz Point. "Also I think for many years there has been a miss communication between the players and management on what role the players should play in the team," he added.
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Moreover, Bibhas Das believes if Bengal wants to win domestic trophies they need to start giving more chances to younger, homegrown talents. "Kazi (Junaid Saifi), Pradipta (Pramanik), Ananta Saha, Amit Kuila all made the Bengal team nationals champion at U19 and U23 level. So, if they can win trophies at age level, why they have not been trusted in the senior team?" he asked.
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"We all know how good they are. Yes, giving seniors their chance is good, But we are wasting bright young careers while doing that. I am afraid that they might drop Sudip Gharami after just two failures. These young homegrown talents need to be given more, proper chances," Bibhas Das sounded concerned.
Look if you ask Sachin Tendulkar to play for Mumbai at this age, he will win you two matches in ten games. But will that serve good for future? No. If Bengal wants to win trophies they must invest in young talented players from Bengal who did well at the under age cricket.
Bibhas Das
Moreover, there has been a trend that Bengal is somehow a paradise for other state cricketers to showcase their talent and eventually play at the first-class level.
"Look I can call 11 players from different cricket academies and win tournaments. But can that team be called the team from my academy? No. I need to make my own players a winner and let them blossom. This is what Bengal cricket is lacking", Bibhas Das sounded disappointed and furious at the same time.
"Kazi and Pradipta must play. They are the future of Bengal cricket. Who can say if they were given a proper chance they would not have played for the country or any IPL team? Players who come and play for three months and go back to their home town UP or Himachal are given more priorities here."