 "Who is Priyansh Arya, the Punjab Kings opener who shone on IPL debut against Gujarat Titans")
Shreyas Iyer led from the front as he began his tenure as Punjab Kings captain with a thrilling victory over Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League meeting in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Iyer, who had led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year and was acquired by PBKS for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore, slammed an unbeaten 97 off 42 balls to help the visitors post a daunting 243/5.
The Mumbaikar decided to sacrifice the prospect of bringing up his maiden IPL century in order to allow Shashank Singh, who blasted an unbeaten 44 off 16 balls, maximum strike in the death overs.
Later in the evening, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (2/36) held his nerve to ensure GT fell narrowly short after Sai Sudharsan (74 off 41) and Jos Buttler (54 off 33) had the 2022 champions setting their sights on the second-highest chase in IPL history.
The fifth match of the 18th IPL season also witnessed young PBKS batter Priyansh Arya shine on IPL debut, smashing 47 off just 23 deliveries including seven fours and two sixes and striking at over 200 (204.35). That included a six and a four off consecutive deliveries in senior Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj’s second over.
Arya’s journey from U-19 World Cup snub to dream IPL debut
According to ESPNCricinfo, Arya hails from a middle-class family of schoolteachers in Delhi and it was after he enrolled at Dronacharya Award-winning coach Sanjay Bhardwaj’s academy that his dreams of becoming a cricketer began to take shape.
The big-hitting opening batter had made headlines across the nation during the inaugural Delhi Premier League (DPL) last year, becoming an overnight after smashing six sixes at the Arun Jaitley Stadium while representing South Delhi Superstarz.
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With his knock of 120 off 50 deliveries that led to a partnership of 286 with Lucknow Super Giants’ Ayush Badoni, Arya had suddenly become a key target for several franchises ahead of the mega auction that took place in Saudi Arabia in November, and was eventually acquired by PBKS for Rs 3.8 crore .
The 24-year-old could have made his debut in the IPL and even for the Indian team much earlier had he been included alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma and Ravi Bishnoi in India’s squad for the U-19 World Cup in 2020.
Arya, however, was ineligible for selection as he had not undergone an age test at the U-16 level, because of which he was eligible to play U-19 cricket for a maximum of two years. The eligible period had concluded long before the selection committee unveiled the Priyam Garg-led squad for the tournament.
Arya made his senior domestic debut for Delhi in the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, it wasn’t until the 2023-24 edition of BCCI’s premier domestic T20 tournament, in which he scored 222 runs at a strike rate of 166.91, that he would finally make an impression at this level.
What helped drive Arya’s price up at the IPL auction was his knock of 102 off 43 balls during Delhi’s SMAT match against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium on 23 November – 24 hours before auctioneer Mallika Sagar began the proceedings in Jeddah.
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