"We have a great mix of youth and experience," Bengal youngsters Ritwik and Abishek open up on Ranji Trophy chances

One had to leave the team after a great start to his first-class career due to injury and another has dominated the Ranji Trophy since arriving at the scene. One is touted to be one of the future leaders of Bengal cricket and another is surely the next big thing in Indian cricket. The first one is Ritwik Roy Chowdhury who unfortunately missed out on playing a Ranji Trophy final due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, the other one is Abihsek Porel who has taken Bengal home twice in his early first-class career. Both the cricketers shared their thoughts on the second phase of the Ranji Trophy in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.

This season Bengal squad had a great mix of youth and experience in the team. They had an 18-year-old Abishek Porel and also had a 37-year-old Anustup Majumdar in the mix. This blend has helped the team come out from any situation in the first phase of the Ranji trophy. "Yes, we have a great mix of youth and experience. It's a great blend. There has never been any doubt about the potential of the team. The team is full of wisdom and we get to learn many things just from watching them play," Ritwik said.

Great things are bound to happen when individuals with the common goal of winning trophies come together

Ritwik Roy Chowdhury

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Along with that, Bengal has been a great fielding side in te recent years. Ritwik feels this has helped them a lot to win big matches. "Our fielding has been great. You can see we had fielded and caught brilliantly in the last season as well. This is where the mixture of youth and experience comes in," he added.

"The standards have been set high by the seniors like Manoj (Tiwary) da, Ruku da (Anustup Majumdar). Look, fielding is something that you need to keep polishing and keep working on. It is our responsibility to keep pushing the bar and get better as a fielding unit," Ritwik further added.

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In the last domestic season, Ritwik faced one of the toughest days in his career. He faced a knee injury that took him out of the Ranji Trophy that season. Since then he is yet to bowl in a competitive match. But he feels he is not far away from being back to bowling.

"I really wanted to be part of Bengal's journey that season. We were doing well as a team. I was in a good rhythm as well. But, I think I have channelised my emotions well during that period. Be it my rehab, clearing some exams, I used to time well. My family and friends were very supportive as well at that time. I always had the belief in my cricketing abilities. Moreover, I pride myself on my work ethic. So I was pretty confident about my come back."

"I feel I am very close to being back at bowling. But, I will not bowl in a competitive match until I feel confident about my bowling action. There were some faults in my bowling bio-mechanics. I am working on it. I am pretty sure I will be back at bowling very soon," Ritwik Roy Chowdhury added.

Meanwhile, Abishek Porel is ready to do whatever the team asks him to do. "There is nothing personal here. It's all about the team. If the team wants me to bat at a certain position, I am ready to do that," he answered on whether he is ready to bat anywhere for the team in the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.

According to the wicket-keeper batter, the team management and seniors have instructed him to continue doing what he has been doing best. "Be it seniors like Manoj (Tiwary) da, Sudip (Chatterjee) da or Roy (Ritwik Roy Chowdhury) da or Arun Lal sir all have guided me well. They have told me to keep doing what has worked for me in the past. Batting with Shahbaz (Ahmed) da has helped me a lot in the initial phase," Porel added.

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Although Bengal has the momentum from the first phase, the team want to take it session by session and make smaller targets. "Yes, this is the plan. We want to make smaller targets and achieve that. If we keep winning smaller battles I think we will be in a good position," Abishek added.

Post Cooch-Behar trophy, Abishek has been playing cricket non-stop. In the last six months, he went to West Indies for the U-19 World Cup, then came back and played the Ranji Trophy. Then he went for the U-25 Tournament and now playing club cricket as well. But, the mantra has been the same for him. He wants to play 200 balls in the longer format of the game whenever he gets to bat.

"The mindset has been the same. I want to play 200 balls. I think the way I bat, even if I get a tough start, I will bat on 90-110 if I face 200 balls. Yes, sometimes the situation demands different things, but I want to play 200 balls whenever I get to bat," Abishek added.