IPL ace, 23, who played with England superstars hunted by cops after student accuses him of rape & private photo threat

Abhishek Porel of Delhi Capitals in action during the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals at Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium Kolkata – India, 24th May, 2026 Photo by Shubhajit Roy Karmakar/Alamy Live News Credit: Alamy A RISING Indian cricket star has been ordered arrested by a top court after a medical student accused him of rape, blackmail and threatening to leak her private photos online. The Calcutta High Court has directed police to immediately arrest Delhi Capitals and Bengal wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel, 23, and seize every electronic device he owns as part of a widening criminal investigation. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya issued the order after hearing that Porel and a second accused remained on the run despite police efforts to track them down. In a ruling handed down on July 14, the judge told officers to keep up their pursuit and to grab any gadgets that might hold what the court called obscene material, so it cannot be shared any further. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! The case dates back to June, when the woman and her mother walked into Mogra police station in Hooghly district, West Bengal, and lodged a complaint. She claims she and Porel had been in a relationship for more than three years, and that he slept with her after promising marriage. She also alleges he assaulted her and threatened her that same month, and that he warned he would circulate intimate images and videos of her if she did not do as he said. Police have registered the case as FIR number 346 of 2026 at Mogra station. Court papers reportedly list a string of charges under India’s Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the country’s new criminal code, alongside offences under the Information Technology Act. Several of the alleged offences are non-bailable, meaning Porel cannot simply post bail if he is caught. Lawyers acting in the case told the court that officers had already recovered a pen drive during their inquiry, which is thought to contain digital evidence. Most read in Sport They pushed for all of Porel’s devices to be seized straight away, arguing that any private images of the complainant stored on them could cause her serious and lasting harm if leaked. A state prosecutor told the court that police had been in contact with the officer in charge at Mogra station as recently as July 6. The judge ordered that all of Porel’s electronic devices be seized without delay to stop any private material of the woman being circulated. Porel, who has denied the allegations from the moment they became public, told reporters he would address the claims properly once police had carried out their investigation, saying his recent good form on the pitch was likely behind the attention the case was getting. The batter has represented Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League since 2023, playing 35 matches for the franchise and scoring 769 runs. He has yet to make his full international debut for India but has represented the country at other levels. Police have been told to file a fresh report to the court by August 14 detailing what steps they have taken to find and arrest Porel. The case returns to court on August 11.