Ishan Porel was only one of the two players from Bengal who found teams at the IPL 2020 auction on Thursday.

Fast bowler Porel was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs 20 lakh. But Porel would be more than happy to hear what Anil Kumble, Kings XI’s director of cricket operations and head coach, had to say about him.

According to Kumble, the Bengal pacer can be a good back-up to Mohammed Shami in the Kings XI squad.

“The idea was to have an Indian fast bowler. Ishan has done really well in domestic cricket. He is someone who we had identified and he’s a good back-up for Shami. Both come from the same Ranji team (Bengal). So it’s good to have a young Indian fast bowler in the ranks,” Kumble said after the auction on Thursday.

Muttiah Muralitharan, currently the bowling consultant of Sunrisers Hyderabad, was the spin bowling consultant of Bengal’s Vision 2020 project and has seen Ishan from close quarters, sounded happy for the young pacer.

“I am very happy for him. He has improved a lot and can be a match-winner. I wish him all the best for IPL,” the Sri Lankan spin legend told The Telegraph.

The Bengal pacer had gone unsold in the last two seasons.

Ishan obviously was very happy. “It’s good that I got a team. I would try to give my best for the team,” Ishan said.

Asked if being thought of as a back-up to Shami would put any extra pressure on him, Ishan replied: “I will play my natural game and try to bowl as many yorkers as possible. But at present, we are playing the Ranji Trophy, and I would like to concentrate on that and give my best for Bengal,” he said.

“I was not watching the auction. We were coming back to the hotel after beating Kerala and I was listening to music. Suddenly, my teammates started rejoicing and then I came to know that I had been picked up by Kings XI Punjab,” he said.

“I first called my mother, but she was aware of it already as all my relatives were watching the auction on TV,” he said.

Another Bengal player, spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.