Abishek Porel snubs KKR, names their arch-rivals as his favorite IPL team growing up

Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel revealed his favourite IPL team, and it is not Delhi Capitals. Porel was a huge fan of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru due to his love for Virat Kohli.

Porel was born in Chandannagar in West Bengal, but he is fond of KKR’s arch-rivals ,RCB. The Bengal boy also loved the trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villier,s and Chris Gayle.

Read also: Huge blow for RCB as Phil Salt set to miss IPL 2025 playoffs

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Abishek Porel’s love for RCB

Abishek Porel is a huge fan of Virat Kohli, and he loves the RCB because of the trio of Kohli, Gayle, and ABD. Porel made his IPL debut in IPL 2024, and with his great performance in his debut season, Delhi Capitals retained him before the mega auction.

“Yes, I was a KKR fan, but I was a fan of RCB as well, because I liked Virat Kohli’s fitness at that time. I still remember when I came to watch RCB’s match to see Kohli. I came through, bumping into people like that. So, I love RCB. AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Kohli, I am talking about that time," Porel said while speaking on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast.

Porel also felt good about meeting with Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, as he never thought about meeting them in person.

“I never thought that I would be able to meet Virat bhai and Mahi bhai. I had no expectations," Porel added.

Abishek Porel praises KL Rahul

Porel played his first impactful innings of this season against the Rajasthan Royals. Porel was batting with KL Rahul and scored 49 runs in 37 balls to build an important 63-run partnership with him.

The left-hand batter praised Rahul by calling him his mentor in the team. Rahul is calm and doesn’t talk much, and his ability to handle pressure is his strength.

“He (Rahul) is like my elder brother. He is very calm and doesn’t speak a lot, and whenever he does, it’s the appropriate things that he says. I liked his calmness, especially the way he handles pressure," Porel said.

Rahul is also not keeping the wickets in all the matches in the IPL 2025, as he gave the opportunity to Porel to wear the gloves in some games. Porel got the opportunity to bat at the top order with KL Rahul, Faf Du Plessis, and Karun Nair at Delhi Capitals.

Abishek Porel’s IPL 2025 performance

Abishek Porel was retained by his franchise for INR 4 crore. The left-hand batter scored 301 runs in 13 matches so far in the tournament.

Porel wasn’t consistent in this IPL season as he scored just one half-century in 13 matches. Porel’s strike rate was his strength as he scored runs at an 146.83 strike rate.