Kumar mohit

Lucknow Super Giants: Life in the last 12 months has been on a brilliant upswing for young wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel, who came into IPL fold as a replacement for Rishabh Pant in 2023 season. Last year this time, with the return of Pant as DC’s wicketkeeper-captain, it felt Porel may not get much game time in the season.

But that changed on its head when he smashed 32 not out off 10 balls after coming in as an impact substitute against Punjab Kings in DC’s season opener at Mullanpur, though the score of 174 wasn’t enough to kickstart their season with a win.

It was just the start for Porel to become one of DC’s breakthrough batters in IPL 2024 – hitting 36 boundaries while amassing 327 runs in 12 innings, including two match-winning half-centuries in the side’s last two games and forming a rollicking opening pair with Jake-Fraser McGurk.