Ishan Porel: From fighting chickenpox, pneumonia, gasping for breath to becoming Bengal’s MVP against Uttar Pradesh

A month ago, Ishan Porel could barely stand, forget about training. He missed the white ball tournaments as he was first down with chickenpox, then pneumonia, and he lost six to seven kgs. But he returned from the bouts of illness to star in Bengal’s six wickets win over Uttar Pradesh with a seven-wicket haul.
Bengal needed 101 to win on Day 4. Resuming at 156 for 2, Bengal lost the wicket of Koushik Ghosh (69) in the third ball of the day with Ankit Rajpoot cleaning up the overnight batter. But veterans Anustup Majumdar (83) and stand-in skipper Manoj Tiwary (60 not out) added 97 runs for the fourth wicket to ensure Bengal regered an outright win. Player of the match was given to Ishan Porel, who set the tone for Bengal on Day 1 with his fifth five-wicket haul.
Porel, who is still feeling the jitters of pneumonia, is just a relieved man and wants to continue his streak into the next matches.

“I am more relieved than excited. At one point I thought I might miss the entire season,” he told The Indian Express from Kolkata.Subscriber Only StoriesPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
“Before Syed Mushtaq Ali, I got affected with Chickenpox and then with pneumonia and I missed Vijay Hazare as well. I lost around six-seven kgs. I could barely stand. The weakness was severe,” he added.
The 24-year-old has faced a spate of misfortunes in his brief career. During the 2018 U-19 World Cup, he got injured after the first match. In 2020, he was named as one of the net bowlers for the Australian tour, but he was sent back from Sydney after he sustained a hamstring injury.
“It has been tough for me since the U-19 days. I got injured in the U-19 World after the first match, a tear on my left heel. This is the story of my life, things have always been this way for me,” he said.
Speaking about his recovery, Porel says when he started training he was gasping for breath but pushed his body and played a couple of league games in CAB’s First Division, which helped him find his mojo back.
“In the beginning, there were breathing issues. A lot of coughing was there in my body, which was affecting my training. I played two club games before Ranji Trophy started, which certainly helped me.

“In the league match, my plan was to get more overs under my belt. I wanted to bowl longer spells. I pushed my body because I didn’t want to break down during the Ranji Trophy match,” he said.
Talking about the process, he said: “In the first match I bowled 10 overs before lunch. Six in one spell and then I came back and bowled four before the lunch break. After lunch, I again bowled a spell of five overs. I bowled 25 overs and only then I felt that I am ready for the Ranji Trophy.
“This is a huge season for me, If I do well I will get picked for the India A side and If I end up having an exceptional season, it might help me get the senior team call-up,” he added.
Porel also praised his U-19 buddy Shivam Mavi (6/55 & 2/65), who too bowled his heart out and bagged eight wickets for Uttar Pradesh.
“He really bowled well. He was bowling with some genuine pace. As an opponent, you don’t want to face someone bowling at that pace but as a fellow fast bowler, it excites you. It was a nice and healthy competition with him,” he said.
Bengal will take on Himachal Pradesh at Eden Gardens in the second round from December 20.
Brief Scores
Bengal: 169 & 259 for 4 in 74.5 overs (Koushil Ghosh 69, Anustup Majumdar 83, Manoj Tiwary 60 not out; Shivam Mavi 2/65) beat Uttar Pradesh 198 and 227 six wickets