Delhi Capitals have reportedly closed in on a replacement of their wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant who will miss the season due to the injuries he sustained in an accident in December last year. The franchise will announce Bengal wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel as Pant's replacement, if a media report is to be believed.
While the team has already named David Warner as the team's captain for this season, they needed a keeper-batter replacement for Pant and seems like it will be the 20-year-old who will take that spot in the side.
Porel has played just 3 T20s in his career so far but somehow has caught the attention of the franchise's think tank who believe that he can be the right man to trust with the role. In the 3 innings, the left-handed batter, much like Pant, has managed just 22 runs.
As far as his List A career is concerned, Porel has got just 1 innings under his belt and made the most of it with an innings of 54. The youngster has an experience of 16 first-class matches, scoring 695 runs at an average of 30.21.
While filling someone like Pant's shoes will be a huge task for the Bengal keeper, it would be interesting to see whether he can translate his talent and potential into performances at this stage rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the world and sharing dressing room with international cricketing stars.
As per a PTI journalist, Porel impressed the management in the warm-up games and with age on his side they see him as someone who can be groomed for the future. Even though he could be announced as Pant's replacement, he is not likely to be part of the team's playing XI in the first few matches and Sarfaraz Khan could end up with the gloves behind the stumps for DC at least in the first few matches.