Abishek Porel in line to be Bengal’s new T20 captain in SMAT 25/26; Mohammad Shami & Abhimanyu Easwaran to play [Exclusive]

Bengal are mulling appointing wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel their new T20 captain ahead of the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy beginning November 26, sources told Sportskeeda. He is in a tussle with incumbent white-ball skipper Sudip Kumar Gharami.

Porel, who has been retained by the Delhi Capitals (DC) for IPL 2026, is emerging as the next poster boy of Bengal cricket. He is currently part of the India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha. If India make the final on November 23, the southpaw will join the Bengal side directly in Hyderabad. While the added responsibility would help him grow as a player, it won't send the right message to a team that has its captains shuffled too often.

Porel's debut as Bengal captain came in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, when he stood in for Abhimanyu Easwaran in the match against Tripura. But it met with a bitter end as Bengal came back with just a solitary point. Porel is also battling poor form, amassing only 84 runs at an average of 21 from three matches. The 23-year-old, however, led the Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers to consecutive semifinals in the Bengal Pro T20 League.

Sportskeeda has learnt that the squad will be announced either on Friday or Saturday. They will leave for Hyderabad – the other Group C venue is Secunderabad – on Sunday evening. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has also asked its players to participate in its local JC Mukherjee T20 Tournament in the buildup to SMAT 2025-26. Those who finished the Ranji assignment versus Assam yesterday will also feature in the competition for the next few days, some slated to play even on the morning of their departure.

Sudip Kumar Gharami was appointed captain of both white-ball teams in 2023. It came on the back of a breakthrough Ranji season, in which the top-order batter amassed 803 runs at 50.18 with three centuries to boot. However, he hasn’t been able to get the team past the quarterfinal stage in either the Mushtaq Ali or the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Gharami logged seven wins out of nine matches in the previous SMAT. But he had underwhelming returns with the bat, scoring 179 runs at a timid strike rate of 118.54. Abishek Porel, on the other hand, smashed 335 runs at 158.76. The season before also had a similar tale. Bengal won four games out of seven, but Gharami’s 197-run tally fell behind Porel’s 239.

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Mohammad Shami & Abhimanyu Easwaran set to be in SMAT 25/26 squad

Mohammad Shami (L) & Abhimanyu Easwaran (R) in action versus Assam

Sportskeeda can also confirm that veteran pacer Mohammad Shami will play the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The squad will also see the return of ace batter Abhimanyu Easwaran after a gap of two years.

Shami, who was recently traded to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), is in red-hot form. The 35-year-old has taken 20 wickets from four matches. He played all nine matches in the Mushtaq Ali last year. Returning from a surgery on his right Achilles tendon, Shami picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 7.85.

Meanwhile, Easwaran last played SMAT in 2023 when he scored 235 runs at an impressive average and strike rate of 35.42 and 155, respectively. The 30-year-old wasn’t available last year since he was part of the Indian team for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Bengal will open their campaign against Baroda next Wednesday. The other teams in Group C are Gujarat, Haryana, Services, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Services.

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