Indian aspirant and top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran will captain a full-strength Bengal Senior Men’s Team in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2025-2026 season scheduled to start on October 15, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) announced on Wednesday, October 8. Wicket-keeper batsman Abishek Porel has been named his deputy.
Bengal’s bowling attack will be reinforced by the inclusion of star fast bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep. The reliable Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee and young turk Sudip Kr Gharami will be instrumental to the batting might. Rookies Rahul Prasad, Saurabh Kr Singh and Vishal Bhati will aim to deliver the goods on the big stage.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla is the head coach of the team while Arup Bhattacharjee and Shib Shankar Paul are the assistant coaches. Charanjit Singh Matharu has been appointed the fielding coach.
Bengal will commence their Ranji Trophy campaign against Uttarakhand at the Eden Gardens on October 15 followed by facing Gujarat in their second match at home on October 25.
Having made his first-class debut in December 2013 for Bengal, where the cricketing pastures were greener than his home state Uttarakhand which only recently earned a BCCI affiliation, Easwaran has come tantalizingly close to an Indian Test cap by scoring 7.954 first-class runs in 180 innings at an average of 48.50, with a best of 233.
In an exclusive chat with Guerilla Cricket, Easwaran detailed his learnings from the time spent in the Indian dressing room, his preparatory process, mental make-up, how he navigates the evolution of Test cricket, the captaincy experience and the dedication of his father in realizing their shared vision.
