Priyansh Arya and Virat Kohli (Twitter)
Priyansh Arya made a name for himself during the inaugural Delhi Premier League (DPL) after smashing six sixes in an over. The youngster named Virat Kohli as his favourite player and wished to play for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) someday.
Kohli has been an inspirational figure for many young cricketers. Priyansh, who wears the No. 18 jersey like his idol, spoke about his admiration for the former India captain during a recent interview.
“Virat Kohli is my favourite, want to play for RCB. My favourite team is RCB, admire Virat Kohli a lot, I like his aggression. I also like to play aggressive cricket. He is my idol,” Arya was quoted as saying by India Today.
Also Read: Priyansh Arya ‘not thinking’ about IPL despite 6 sixes and century in DPL
The 23-year-old wanted to contribute towards helping RCB end their wait for a first Indian Premier League title, something that eluded them for 17 years.
Representing South Delhi Superstarz, Priyansh is the leading run-getter in the DPL, amassing 602 runs from nine innings. The left-handed batter put left-arm spinner Manan Bharadwaj to the sword in the 12th over in the encounter between the Superstarz and North Delhi Strikers last month. Arya went on to score his second century of the tournament as he helped his team post a mammoth total of 308/5 in 20 overs. He eventually finished on 120 off 50 balls.
“I had this thing in mind that if a left-arm spinner comes on to bowl, I will attack him. After the fourth six, I started to believe that I can hit six sixes and will go for that. Ayush backed me and told me to go for the kill,” he revealed.
Arya and Superstarz’ captain Ayush Badoni shared a record-shattering stand of 286 and it orchestrated a massive 112-run win for their team.
“Badoni’s quite relaxed and doesn’t talk much, just tells us to express ourselves. The team’s environment is calm, coaches talk about the positives rather than negatives. The mindset is to win the trophy,” Arya added.