Young fast bowler Vaibhav Arora made his IPL debut during Punjab Kings (PBKS) game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday (April 3). The pacer replaced Raj Bawa, who failed to make an impression in the first two games.
The right-arm pacer impressed in his first outing, returning with 2/21 against the defending champions. He picked up the crucial wickets of Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali inside the powerplay overs, breaking the backbone of CSK’s batting line-up.
On that note, let’s take a look at 3 unknown facts about Vaibhav Arora:
#1 He was part of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021
The young fast bowler from Himachal Pradesh was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, with a couple of Indian pacers like Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier and Prasidh Krishna already in the squad, Vaibhav Arora had to warm the benches.
He was also a part of Punjab Kings as a net bowler during IPL 2020 before KKR roped in him in 2021. Vaibhav was part of the Knight Riders squad that ended as runners-up in IPL 2021 in the UAE when they lost against Chennai Super Kings.
Vaibhav Arora and Arshdeep Singh used to share new ball for SD College, Chandigarh.#IPL2022
— Pratyush Raj (@pratyush93_raj) April 3, 2022
But Punjab wanted him at the auction and shelled INR 2 crore to acquire the services of the fast bowler despite intense bidding from the Kolkata franchise.
#2 Vaibhav Arora contemplated leaving cricket
The 24-year-old comes from a humble background. At one point, he even contemplated leaving the sport to make money working in any office.
Impressive debuts 👏
Terrific shot-making 💥
Spot-on DRS call ✅#PBKS' star debutants Vaibhav Arora and @jiteshsharma_ recap @PunjabKingsIPL's dominating victory against #CSK. 👍 👍 – By @RajalAroraFull interview 📹 🔽 #TATAIPL | #CSKvPBKS https://t.co/52QRXJsC8Y pic.twitter.com/85ayB3hZ8X
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 4, 2022
However, his childhood coach Ravi Verma kept him motivated and insisted that he should pursue the sport. The decision paid dividends and Vaibhav Arora made his impression felt on the big stage.
#3 Vaibhav’s record in T20 cricket
He has played 12 domestic matches in T20 cricket, scalping 12 wickets. His best bowling figures are 3/16, suggesting that once he gets going, he can pick up multiple wickets for his side. Arora has a decent economy rate of 6.96 in the shortest format of the game.
