new delhi: Jofra Archer’s scorcher did rock back Priyansh Arya’s off-stump but thanks to some sage advice from head coach Ricky Ponting and skipper Shreyas Iyer, the 24-year-old’s confidence didn’t take a beating.
It was the second successive failure for Priyansh when a length ball from the England and Rajasthan Royals pacer moved a shade away uprooting the off-stump.
The manner of the dismissal could have dented the Delhi opener’s confidence if it wasn’t for those frank conversations with Iyer and Ponting.
The result was a 39-ball exhilarating century against Chennai Super Kings which catapulted the Delhi man into instant stardom, which is a common phenomenon for all young performers.
“Ricky sir gave me confidence by saying that anyone can be out first ball. He told me hit it out of the park if you get the same ball,” he said in a selection media interaction.
Priyansh did smash the first ball out of the park in the following game though line of that delivery was different from CSK pacer Khaleel Ahmed.
“Ricky sir always keeps telling me to improve my pull shot. Have not worked with him on the technical front, we talk only about mindset,” said the soft-spoken batter who rose to prominence with his six sixes off as many balls in a local Delhi league last year.
In his debut season at Punjab Kings, both as captain and player, Iyer has led with confidence which has rubbed off on greenhorns like Priyansh.
The chat with him too was equally uplifting following the Archer dismissal.
“In the nets ahead of the CSK game, Shreyas bhai just told me go with my first thought after seeing the ball. Before the season too, he had told me that I would be playing all 14 games. Both Shreyas and Ricky sir never spoke anything negative after the first ball dismissal. That is bound to boost your confidence,” said Priyansh.
Priyansh has matured to become a ‘see the ball, hit the ball batter’ but by his own admission he was not that bold in his early days when he faced rejection in IPL trials and even in the senior Delhi team.