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After impressing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp, Bengal are all-rounders Karan Lal eclipsed some renowned names in a trial conducted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this week. All 10 franchises are being prepared ahead of the IPL 2026 auction to be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.
Sportskeeda has reliably learned that the defending champions held a two-day camp for around 15 players at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on December 9 and 10. They underwent open net match simulations on Tuesday and played a practice match on the second day. It was organized right after the group stage of the race Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Some of the established names present were Suyash Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Navdeep Saini, Rohan S Kunnummal. Upcoming pace sensation Ashok Sharma, Delhi League 2025 top wicket-taker, Money Grewal, former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) leg-spinner Prashant Solanki were also called up.
T20 records of some batsmen in RCB Test:
25-year-old Karan Lal was impressive from the moment he and Kunnummal were asked to score 16 runs in an over. The Bengal opener hit two sixes off the first two balls he faced with leg-spinner Suyash Sharma as the duo completed the challenge with aplomb. The right-hander scored 21 off eight balls and hit six sixes in total during the match simulations.
He saved the best for the last day, so much so that he was RCB’s batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik in the end he was singing his praises. Opening with Kerala’s Kunnummal, Karan Lal smashed 54 off 17 deliveries in the practice game. He hit a six off the first ball of the match off Abhinandan Singh, a mower retained by RCB. He then smashed Indian paceman Navdeep Saini for three sixes in one over – over square leg, point and third man.
“Very impressive. You are ready for this level,” were the words of a DK.
Karan Lal hit a stroke-filled 52 off 23 balls from the No.4 in the KKR camp and also dismissed Rahul Tripathi and Yash Dhull with his off-spin.
Rohan Kunnummal also completed a half-century, but the RCB think tank was more impressed with the left-armer Ravi Singh. The wicketkeeper-batsman represents the Railways and also plays club cricket in Kolkata. Meanwhile, Ashok Sharma, who can accelerate up to 150 kmph, was injured after just five deliveries.
The IPL 2025 winners are looking for top-order back-ups after releasing discarded Indian opener Mayank Agarwal and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert.
LSG comes to knock on Karan Lal’s door
Multiple sources have confirmed to Sportskeeda that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are also interested in signing Karan Lal. Rishabh pantsThe boys tried three different opening combinations last season but lack good Indian openers. Karan would offer versatility in the batting order along with his bowling.
The LSG management first contacted Shahbaz Ahamad to meet his Bengal teammate. And the left-arm spin all-rounder had only positive things to say about Karan. An LSG scout later got a second opinion from a former Bengal IPL player.
Karan Lal’s steady run as an opener and newfound six-hitting ability have put him in the limelight, making him a hot property for the IPL mini-auction 2026. His strike rate of 195.53 is just behind Abhishek Sharma among the batsmen who have faced more than 100 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2025-26. He smashed 17 sixes in the group stage and finished as Bengal’s top run-scorer. He was also the top run-scorer and hit more sixes in the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025.
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Edited by Srinjoy Sanyal
