After first ball duck, words of confidence from Ponting, Iyer help Priyansh play innings of his life

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.

Consistency is another word he stresses on during the interaction.

"I made debut for senior Delhi team in in 2021 but was out after two games. So I wanted to make consistent runs. Till last year too, I was not consistent. But I was able to gain that consistency in DPL and state team this season.

"'Consistency is the key' is something that goes in my mind all the time," said Priyansh.

Gambhir's Priceless Gift: A brand new kit bag

Priyansh has been training with Delhi based coach Sanjay Bhardwaj since the age of 10. Bhardwaj has also produced players like current India head coach Gautam Gambhir, someone Priyansh would try to emulate during net sessions.

"Sanjay sir has played a huge role in my life. We have been talking on a daily basis even now. Before the IPL, he told me specifically to work on my cut and pull as I would have to play those shots of hard length and not half-trackers.

"Talking about Gautam sir, growing up we did not think about the game like we do now. Sanjay sir used to tell us to watch him bat. First time I spoke to him was in a Ranji camp. Gautam sir gave me a brand new kit bag. I still remember that vividly."

Regrets not meeting Dhoni post on-field heroics

MS Dhoni, going about his business as usual behind the stumps, can be a daunting for a young batter like Priyansh. Having got to share the field alongside the World Cup winning captain, Priyansh feels like a very luck man.

"I feel very lucky to play against Dhoni sir as very few get that opportunity. There was pressure when he was behind the wickets and also there were legendary bowlers on the field like Ashwin. I wanted to talk Dhoni sir but he had left the ground by that time."

How was it tonking the likes of Ashwin on either side of the wicket?

"I felt he would try to cramp me and I went for the sweep shot at first. Attacking batsmen out hote hue ganda hee lagta hain (Any attacking batter generally looks ugly during dismissals). Whoever it might be. I dont think about these things, just worry about execution my shots," he added.

With luck on his side on Tuesday night, Priyansh got his execution spot on.