Wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel has been named in the Bengal senior men's squad for the upcoming practice matches against Assam in Guwahati, days after he was granted bail in an alleged rape case. The Cricket Association of Bengal announced the squad on Tuesday, with Porel included among the team's two wicketkeeping options alongside Shakir Habib Gandhi.
Porel was granted bail by a court on September 18 after being arrested in connection with the case on August 11. If he is selected in Bengal's playing XI for the practice matches, it would mark his first match since his arrest. The Bengal team is scheduled to leave Kolkata on September 30 and return on October 6.
The Bengal squad will be led by Sudip Chatterjee, with Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ankur Paul, Ankit Shukla, Sumanta Gupta and Subham Chatterjee among the other players selected. Pradipta Pramanik, Karan Lal, Aamir Gani, Soummyadip Mandal, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Md. Kaif, Geet Puri and Ishan Porel are also part of the squad.
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The case against Porel stems from a complaint filed by a young medical student from Karnataka at Mogra police station on June 23. According to the complaint, the woman alleged that she and Porel had been in a relationship for around three-and-a-half years and had planned to marry. She also alleged that they had travelled abroad together before Porel later denied their relationship.
The woman further alleged that the two had a dispute around a year and a half before the complaint, following which police intervened, although no complaint was filed at that time. After the June complaint, police began an investigation and teams visited Porel's residence in Chandannagar several times but were unable to locate him.
The woman subsequently approached the Calcutta High Court, following which the court directed police to arrest Porel on July 20. The proceedings also involved allegations of criminal intimidation and other offences in addition to the rape allegation. Porel's inclusion in the Bengal squad comes shortly after his bail and ahead of the team's practice matches against Assam.
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