PBKS star Priyansh Arya speaks on debut IPL, second season of Delhi Premier League

Punjab Kings (PBKS) uncapped Indian batter Priyansh Arya, who was brought for a massive Rs 10.6 crores by Outer Delhi Warriors for the second season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL), hailed the competition as a great platform for youngsters to showcase their skills and opened up on his debut, breakout Indian Premier League (IPL) season with PBKS, who ended the tournament this year as runners-up to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Priyansh spoke to ANI amid the auctions for the second session of the competition.

Speaking about his maiden DPL season last year with South Delhi Superstarz and the tournament as a whole, Priyansh told ANI, "This has been a very good journey for me and it will be a very good journey for the youngsters who are coming this time because DPL is a platform where one can show their skills and the whole of India can see that because when it comes on TV, this is a very good platform."

Speaking on his team missing out on the IPL title this year after a six-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Arya said, "Winners are winners. We could not do it this time, but would try to win it next year."

In 17 matches during his IPL debut, Priyansh Arya scored 475 runs at an average of 27.94 with a strike rate of 179.24. He scored a century and two fifties and had the best score of 103. He was the third-highest run-getter for PBKS, and his partnership with Prabhsimran Singh, another uncapped Indian, broke several records and garnered acclaim.

Arya, who came into the limelight in the DPL last year, was picked up by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 3.8 crore in the mega auctions last year. Entering at Rs 30 lakh, he attracted bids from Delhi Capitals and RCB before being picked by PBKS. In the DPL season one, he smashed six sixes in an over during a match and scored 306 runs in 10 matches with two centuries and four fifties, striking at almost 199. Speaking about a potential Indian selection, Arya said that it is not in his hands, but rather in the selectors'.

"So I am concentrating on DPL season two," he added.

Arya had extremely positive memories of his first IPL season, saying that it gave him "maturity".

"By working with a coach like Ricky Ponting, captain Shreyas Iyer and senior batter Shashank Singh, my maturity level got higher," he concluded. (ANI)