Inspired by Shubman Gill, T20 maverick Priyansh Arya eyes red-ball stint

Having got himself into the limelight following his stellar show in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025), Priyansh Arya has continued his rise in the second season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL). Playing for Outer Delhi Warriors, the swashbuckling batter scored a sensational 52-ball century against East Delhi Riders to etch his name in the record books.

The southpaw became the first batter in the history of the tournament to score multiple centuries. He further scored a breathtaking 30-ball 76 against North Delhi Strikers to help his team end their five-match winless streak.

Coming from an IPL season, where he amassed 475 runs from 17 innings for Punjab Kings, there were a lot more eyeballs on Arya for the ongoing season. However, the southpaw revealed that he didn’t let any pressure get to him and was just focused on performing better than last year.

“No, there wasn’t much pressure last year and even this year I didn’t feel it. I just wanted to perform better than last year. There are still three matches left, so I’ll try to bounce back in those,” Arya told India Today.

Continuing from where he left off in the previous season, Arya has accumulated 303 runs from eight innings at an average of 37.88 and a strike rate of 166.48 with one hundred and a half century to his name. The southpaw is known for going after bowling right from the word go and get the team off to a rollicking start.

However, apart from explosiveness, Arya is also planning to bring a bit more consistency into his game after Outer Delhi Warriors didn’t have a good season.

“No, consistency is important. Of course, impactful innings look good if the team wins, but if we don’t win, then I know I need to focus more on consistency,” said Arya.

Reflecting on his IPL performances, the opening batter also revealed the secret behind his success, mentioning that he was given full freedom from head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer.

“Both of them gave me a lot of freedom — to play the way I want, as long as it benefits the team. Whether I score 30 off 10 balls or 30 off 30 balls — as long as it helps the team, they were happy with that,” he added.

Ready to take on the Ranji challenge

After leaving the world swooning with his adventurous strokeplay in the shortest format, Priyansh Arya also has aspirations to excel in red-ball cricket. The 23-year-old revealed that he has played a lot of first-class matches and wants to challenge himself to play in the tougher conditions of the Ranji Trophy. The opener also idolises Shubman Gill in the longer formats.

“I’ve played a lot of red-ball cricket — in U-19 and U-23 cricket. So it’s not something totally new to me. Of course, Ranji Trophy is tougher — conditions are different, matches start in the morning. It’s challenging, but that’s what makes it fun. Shubman Gill is my idol in red-ball cricket,” said Priyansh Arya.

With one more game remaining in the DPL 2025, Arya is aiming to end the ongoing edition on a high and carry his form in the Indian domestic season. The youngster hasn’t looked back after hitting six sixes in the inaugural edition of the DPL, and his journey has just begun. With a desire to excel in first-class cricket as well, Arya has made his intentions clear that he doesn’t intend to be a one-dimensional player.