Priyansh Arya mocked by friends, told 'you won't get more than 1 crore' in IPL auction, used INR 45,000 to realise dream

Priyansh Arya is here, and he's taken the IPL 2025 by storm. The Punjab Kings youngster, who blew a tad cold after an encouraging start in the first against Gujarat Titans, with scores of 47, 8 and 0, utilised his full potential to bludgeon a maiden IPL century against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. Priyansh's innings, laced with 4 fours and 9 sixes, along with a half-century from Shashank Singh, powered PBKS to 219/6. In reply, CSK, despite a good chasing effort, fell 18 runs short, finishing on 201/5 to suffer their fourth defeat of the season. CSK never recovered from Priyansh Arya's assault(AFP)

Priyansh's journey from the lowkey alleys of Delhi to playing for the IPL 2014 finalists is a testament to the roller-coaster ride he has been on. It is common knowledge that making it big in Delhi cricket isn't easy. Not many know, but Priyansh Arya's coach Sanjay Bharadwaj, a renowned figure in the Delhi cricketing circuit, landed him the Delhi U19 trials, and if he hadn't gone out of his way, it might not have been possible. The coach paid a hefty club tournament entry fee of INR 45,000 so that his pupil would have a shot at the Delhi U19 trials.

"He was not in the U19 selection process. There was a tournament that a former India player was organising. The U19 selector was Gurusharan Singh. I wanted Priyansh to feature in the tournament as I was confident he would become the Player of the Series. I thought if he ends up performing well, I will request Gurusharan to consider him for a trial," Bharadwaj told The Hindustan Times.

Also Read: Priyansh Arya slept at 3 AM last night after whirlwind century, told coach 'I didn't do anything. Iyer and Ponting...'

"By God's grace, everything happened. Priyansh Arya gave the trial match. We won the tournament. He became the Player of the Series. Ajay Jadeja awarded him a bat."

While the 6 sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League brought him overnight stardom, it cannot be forgotten that the youngster has been slogging it out domestic cricket. In the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Priyansh smashed 222 runs at a strike rate of 166.91. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin even noticed his performance in the tournament, and he asked all the IPL franchises to consider Priyansh for selection before the auction. "My number one player… He played very well with the bat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I am talking about Priyansh Arya. The Delhi opener, a left-handed batsman," Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel.

Months later, Punjab Kings heard Ashwin as they snapped the big-hitting left-hander for INR 3.8 crore at the auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The amount was substantially higher than Priyansh's base price, INR 30 lakh.

"He is like my own child. I always believed that Priyansh Arya would fetch good money at the auction. Priyansh told me his friends said he wouldn't get more than INR 1 crore. But I told his father that Priyansh would at least get INR 2.70 crore," said Bharadwaj.

"I never make any request for passes. I have not requested even Gautam Gambhir. I don't need passes. I watch matches on television. In the Delhi Premier League, I told him that until and unless you score 100 runs, I wouldn't come to watch your match. The very same day, he scored a hundred and smashed six 6s in an over. Then I went to meet him," he added.

'Learning doesn't stop'

The road is expected to get slightly tricky for Priyansh going ahead, as the teams have now warmed up to what the left-hander can do. There will be better planning. And one cannot forget that before the century against CSK, the 24-year-old went back to the hut on the very first ball of the innings as he was beaten for pace by a Jofra Archer delivery against Rajasthan Royals.

"Priyansh Arya needs to keep working on his match. After the IPL, we have chalked out a plan on how to go about training. Priyansh will come to Bhopal to fine-tune his skills. We need to figure out how Priyansh goes about his business in red-ball cricket," he concluded.

Click here to read article