New Delhi: Priyansh Arya’s career seemed to be moving at a rapid pace last year. The six sixes in an over in the inaugural Delhi Premier League T20, followed by a Rs 3.8 cr contract with Punjab Kings, made him the next promising batting talent to come out of Delhi. But between the IPL auction and Tuesday’s scintillating hundred, Delhi cricket’s infamous biases and apathy nearly got to him.
Arya was about to be sent back from Vijay Hazare Trophy this December by the selectors, all on the basis of a few low scores for Delhi in an U-23 tournament. He was about to check out of the team hotel on the eve of the tournament opener before senior cricketers like Ishant Sharma and Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley intervened to ensure Arya didn’t have to face the humiliation of being sent back.
This happened within weeks of him bagging the IPL deal on the basis of a good Syed Mushtaq Ali performance. DDCA management knew Arya had contributed to the growth of brand DPLT20 yet he got to play only a couple of matches late in the tournament.
At this point, he reached out to former India selector Devang Gandhi, who worked as Delhi coach the previous season in 2023-24, asking for areas he could work on when he isn’t playing for Delhi. Gandhi was impressed by Arya the first time he saw during a trial match ahead of the 2023 season.
“Priyansh doesn’t look like a strong kid but the way he timed the ball was sensational. The best part is he looked comfortable against the pace of Har shit Rana and Mayank Yadav. He had attitude, he wouldn’t take a backward step,” Gandhi told TOI.
Arya wasn’t in contention to be picked for Delhi when Gandhi assumed the role of the head coach. He was so impressed by Arya that he made him play in the white-ball formats and even advocated for his inclusion in the play Ranji Trophy side. “The Delhi selectors felt he didn’t have the runs in red-ball cricket and didn’t want to risk him. But I recommended him to Sourav Ganguly, who was the director at Delhi Capitals,” Gandhi added.
Ganguly told TOI last year that he and then DC coach Ricky Ponting found Arya impressive, though they couldn’t find a place for him in the team. When the mega auctions came, Ponting — now Punjab coach — promptly snapped him up.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.
