Punjab Kings (PBKS) have assembled a good squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. They have brought a new captain, Shreyas Iyer, and head coach, Ricky Ponting. PBKS have never won an IPL trophy, and they would like to change that.
Ponting backs Priyansh Arya
Shreyas has confirmed that he’ll bat at number three. Now, Ponting has hinted that Priyansh Arya, the 24-year-old who was bagged by PBKS for Rs 3.80 crore at the IPL 2025 season, could be their second opener. Prabhsimran Singh is basically confirmed as the main opener, but many speculated that Josh Inglis or Marcus Stoinis could be his partner up top.
“Priyansh Arya, I think, is a very special potential opening batsman for us going forward in the tournament. Depending on which way we go with our overseas make-up, he’s very exciting,” Ponting said at an event.
Ready to take IPL 2025 by storm
A southpaw, Priyash has the calibre to be the next Abhishek Sharma. The opener had hit 6 sixes in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) and also hit 120 (50) in the same match. His overall DPL numbers were incredible, averaging 67.56 and 198.69 strike rates. This included 4 fifties and 2 hundreds in 10 innings.
Punjab Kings Opener Priyansh Arya 81 run against top class bowling lineup like :-
— Baaz Bal (@BaazBal) December 1, 2024
Washington, Varun , Natrajan , SenLove Punjab
While he was selected based on this performance by PBKS. His overall T20 numbers are pretty great as well. He averages over 33, but more importantly, his strike rate is over 166.
PBKS had taken a punt on Prabhsimran, and it worked well. They might do the same with Priyansh. Ponting and Shreyas can send Stoinis to number three and have Prabhsimran keep the wickets.
Priyansh Arya T20 Stats
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 573 | 33.70 | 166.56 | 1 | 3 | 102 |
