Priyansh Arya, who hit 6 sixes in an over in DPL 2024, is eyeing Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi – India TV

It is not often that six sixes are hit in an over. The number of cricketers who have done so can be counted on the fingers of one hand, be it in international cricket, List A, domestic cricket or at club level. Those who have done so, such as Ravi Shastri, Kieron Pollard, Yuvraj Singh or Herschelle Gibbs, are usually known for the act. However, the most recent on the list, 22-year-old Priyansh Arya from Delhi, has his sights set on making his Ranji Trophy debut for his American team this year.

Arya, who was almost chosen in the LPI Over the past year, Arya has been on a roll with the South Delhi Superstarz in the ongoing Delhi Premier League. Arya has 602 runs to his name at a strike rate of 198 and an average of 75, including a couple of centuries. Arya may get that IPL call-up this time finally, however, his eyes are firmly set on making his red-ball debut for Delhi.

“Test cricket is my favourite since my childhood. In my opinion, Test cricket is the premier cricket. The player is literally tested by the conditions, swing etc. So, my main focus is to make my Ranji Trophy debut this year because the red ball will be my priority this year. A day after the DPL, I will start my red ball practice because it is tough,” Arya said in an exclusive interaction with India TV.

Arya has six fifty-plus scores in nine innings so far and those six sixes against North Delhi Strikers’ Manan Bhardwaj topped them all. Arya ended up scoring 120 off 50 balls that day as he stitched a 286-run stand with his captain Ayush Badoni. Revealing his mindset as he went hard at the left-arm bowler, Arya said, “I think it was the 12th over and the left-arm bowler came in to bowl and I was ready and wanted to attack in that over. When I hit the fourth six, Ayush was batting alongside me and he said that ‘it’s not often that you get a chance to hit six sixes in an over so you can give it a go’.”

A fan of Gautam Gambhir, Arya has had a supportive family and gave a lot of credit to his first coach Sanjay Bhardwaj for his ability to play so well at this young age. “I used to play on my field before I told my father that I wanted to play cricket. I was around 9 or 10 years old and my father supported me from the beginning,” he said.

“He helped me get into an academy. Sanjay Bhardwaj was my first coach. Since I was a kid, he used to make me play with the older boys so that I could improve and learn faster day by day. I always played with boys older than my age group as my father never let me play with the younger boys.”

Arya may be on the rise, but last year he suffered the biggest disappointment of his young career so far, not being picked at the auction. The left-handed opener also had numbers in Syed Mushtaq Ali to show for, scoring 212 runs at a strike rate of 166 and mentioning that it took him a while to recover from that.

“I was very disappointed. It was very painful. But then I realised that I was not consistent. In 7-8 matches, I scored only two fifties, so I worked on that aspect of my game to be as consistent as possible,” said Arya, who kept his promise to perfection.

You talk about coherence and the first name that comes up is Virat Kohli. RCB is Arya’s favourite team because of Kohli and not his home team, Delhi Capitals. “RCB is my favourite because of Virat bhaiya“I like his aggressiveness and attitude on the pitch,” he added.

Everything has been going according to plan, maybe even better for Arya so far, but this is just the beginning of the journey. But as he said, a Ranji Trophy debut and an IPL call-up would definitely top it all, and obviously the DPL trophy with the Superstarz.