IPL 2025: Like Conan the Barbarian, Priyansh Arya does the destruction act for Punjab Kings

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Priyansh Arya: People talk of Delhi cricket in derogatory terms where politics, 'sifarish', a typical phrase used for pulling strings, is accepted as normal. Well, Priyansh Arya, 24, from Delhi, showed that he belongs to that breed of brave cricketers who has made it big on his own on merit and risen to mercurial heights.

From crowded metros in New Delhi to other parts of a cricket crazy nation, Priyansh was the flavour on Tuesday night in IPL 2025. The left-hander produced a knock which was combust and robust as he sped to 103 runs off 42 balls for Punjab Kings against Chennai Super Kings in Mullanpur, where the stadium is named after Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala.

To say that Priyansh batted with the swagger of a Maharaja may be going too far. But he certainly has shown, that he is no less a Prince for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025. Sample this, in the previous match, Priyansh had not scored big, got out cheaply. It needed a change in mindset, belief in his skills and being allowed the freedom to explode into brilliance.

It's summer in North India and the temperature is rising slowly and steadily. If that heat was needed to warm up the proceedings, Priyansh had been spoken to by skipper Shreyas Iyer, easily the most inspiring captain in the last two seasons of the IPL, first with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and now as the 'Sarpanch' of Punjab Kings.

Anyone who knows a thing or two about the DNA of a Punjabi IPL side, they are fierce, brave and can be audacious. Well, Priyansh meshed all this, plus listened to the advice from Shreyas and head coach Ricky Ponting as he smashed a ton which was heavyweight in every sense.

Priyansh is a left-hander, so he creates the geometry and angles in his shot production with great bat speed. It helps him generate good power. This is what T20 batting is all about these days, where a batter has to be bold and beautiful.

For those who do not follow lower tiers of cricket from where talent emerges, Priyansh has played all his cricket in Delhi. From the days of being a student at the Kulachi Hansraj Model School in West Delhi to graduating from Delhi University, he has been devoted to cricket.

By his own admission, Priyansh says he watched Gautam Gambhir play closely. Understandable that, since GG is also a southpaw and Priyansh has learnt the fundamentals of batting from GG's childhood coach Sanjay Bharadwaj.

Delhi has so many coaches who have produced talented players, where Late Tarak Sinha, a Dronacharya awardee, could boast of almost rolling out champions from a conveyer belt which has academy was.

Tarak has spent all his time and money in pursuing a passion, churn out players, of which, even Rishabh Pant is a product. But there are other coaches as well who have rendered yeoman service to Delhi cricket at their own academies. After all, we keep hearing now and then about Virat Kohli's coach Raj Kumar Sharma as well.

Back to Priyansh, he has faced struggles in Delhi in age group cricket as well. Nothing new that, since Delhi cricket is a damn cesspool. The key is to stay afloat despite politics, prove yourself and get the right breaks.

For those who bothered to track the DPL-Delhi Premier League - held in the Capital last year, it produced more than just a few players turning out in colourful 'pyjamas' since T20 cricket is not about white flannels.

Well, the knock which Priyansh produced in the IPL contest against Chennai Super Kings, a side with so much pedigree, was also about being creative and colourful. Rewind to December 2024, when the IPL auction took place in Saudi Arabia. Among uncapped players, Priyansh was being chased by three franchises.

It is to the credit of Punjab Kings, where Ricky Ponting has cemented his credentials, Priyansh was bought at a price of Rs 3.80 crores. For someone whose parents are teachers in Delhi schools, Priyansh raking in such money is just a beginning.

This was not a perfect innings, if one looks at the two 'lives' which Priyansh got from CSK, courtesy pathetic aerial fielding. It's awful when a side with so much reputation messes up with dropped catches. Bless his soul, famous Australian TV broadcaster Richie Benaud would often say 'catches win matches.'

Richie is gone but the words resonate. Priyansh did not get flustered by the dropped catches. To the contrary, what he watched was a procession at the other end as wickets kept falling.

Priyansh had been advised by skipper Shreyas to back his skills and go for big runs. The approach prescribed these days is play fearless cricket, smash the ball and show no mercy. In the DPL, Priyansh had scored 608 runs for South Delhi Superstarz. That was shown on TV as well, where he had perfected the art of smashing sixes. To do that in state T20 leagues is different from the IPL.

Perform or perish is no cliché, in the IPL a batter has to charge like the bull against the matador. Priyansh did that, pounding 103 off 42 balls. His strike rate of 245.24, courtesy seven fours and nine sixes showed he is fearless. And for past master blasters of Delhi cricket as well like Viru Sehwag, this assault from Priyansh was brutal. This Priyansh ton is going to be replayed a few times for sure.