Priyansh Arya, 24, showed the world he is here to stay as he played a whirlwind knock of 103 in 42 balls against Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025 in Mullanpur on Tuesday. The left-hander played one of the most audacious innings in the history of the tournament as he kept hitting despite losing partners at the other end. During the Punjab Kings' innings, assistant coach Brad Haddin spoke about how it took the management just a few balls during a practice game to narrow down Priyansh Arya for the playing XI.
"He played about eight balls in a practice game before the IPL. That was enough for us to say that he has to play the first game," said Haddin while speaking to the host broadcaster.
During the masterclass for PBKS against CSK, Priyansh Arya belted 7 fours and 9 sixes, batting at a strike rate of 245.24. He smashed the fastest century by an uncapped player in the IPL's history and, in the process, also registered the fifth-fastest century in the tournament. This knock was also the fastest ton scored against CSK in the IPL. Such was Priyansh's dominance that even India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav took notice. Sharing his image on Instagram Stories, he wrote, "What a knock. Total entertainment."
Priyansh Arya is coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj, who has trained Gautam Gambhir, Nitish Rana, and Amit Mishra. The 24-year-old's father is a government school teacher. The boy, who hails from Delhi's Ashok Vihar, came to the national spotlight last year when he smashed six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League. While playing for South Delhi Superstarz against North Delhi Strikers, Priyansh smashed 120 runs, including 10 fours and 10 sixes.
{{/usCountry}}Priyansh Arya is coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj, who has trained Gautam Gambhir, Nitish Rana, and Amit Mishra. The 24-year-old's father is a government school teacher. The boy, who hails from Delhi's Ashok Vihar, came to the national spotlight last year when he smashed six sixes in an over in the Delhi Premier League. While playing for South Delhi Superstarz against North Delhi Strikers, Priyansh smashed 120 runs, including 10 fours and 10 sixes.
{{/usCountry}}"Just before speaking to you, Priyansh had called. He said, 'namaskar sir.' He then asked me, 'Theek tha?' (Was it okay). I then questioned him about what happened yesterday. He then said that it was nothing but God's doing. I didn't do anything (laughs). I always tell him that it is God who is doing everything. He is just making things happen by your means," an elated Sanjay Bharadwaj said, known as 'Guruji' in the Delhi cricket circles.
"He called me at 7:30 in the morning. He slept at 2-3 AM in the night. He has always been like this. He is very down to earth and always respectful," he added.
Priyansh Arya is a natural-born striker of the ball
At one stage, Punjab Kings were reeling at 83/5 in the 8th over, but Priyansh continued with his onslaught, taking the team to 219/6 in 20 overs. During the post-match presentation, Priyansh Arya revealed how he was looking to curb his natural instincts, but Nehal Wadhera came in, passing on the message from the dugout to keep following his instincts and do what comes naturally to him.
"He has always been like this. He has always been willing to take risks. He plays with his instincts. When you play with a conscious mind, you can have some problems. This effort took the team past the 200-run mark, and Punjab Kings won," said Priyansh.
"Priyansh has told me that Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting are backing him fully. They have asked him to back his instincts. They have also told him that he needs no coaching," he added.
The left-handed batter from Delhi had joined Bharadwaj's academy at the age of 10. Before the IPL 2025 began, the southpaw had travelled to Bhopal to train at his coach's residential academy to practice range-hitting and cut-and-pull shots.
"He was working on cut and pull shots. He was being considered as an opener, so he had to work on these shots. He had to face bowlers who bowl 140-150 kmph, so the work needed to be done. Big-hitting comes naturally to him," said the coach.