Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 29 (ANI): Young Punjab Kings (PBKS) opener Priyansh Arya has impressed everyone with his clean hitting in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). In his debut season, he has a chance to secure a massive record as 50 more runs will help him leapfrog Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal to get the most runs by an uncapped Indian in their debut IPL season.

Arya is among the latest set of Indian openers captivating the audience with his strokeplay. His clean hitting, especially pull shots and sheer audacity to go after the world's best has made him an exciting prospect. As evident by his takedown of Mumbai Indians (MI) in a crucial final league stage match that sealed PBKS' top spot, the big-match temperament is also there. In the Qualifier one against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Mullanpur on Thursday, he has a chance to put on display the potential and skill set that is so evident for all to see.

In the ongoing season, Arya has scored 424 runs at an average of 30.28 and a strike rate of 183.54. He has scored a century and two half-centuries, with the best score of 103. He is the third-highest run-getter for PBKS behind Prabhsimran Singh (499 runs) and Shreyas Iyer (514 runs).

If he scores 50 more runs in the remainder of his IPL campaign, Arya will become the uncapped Indian batter with most runs in debut IPL season. This record is in the hands of Padikkal, who played his debut IPL season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2020. In 15 matches that season, Padikkal made 473 runs at an average of 31.53 and a strike rate of 124.80 with five fifties. His best score was 74.

The second-best debut campaign by an uncapped Indian batter is by Shreyas, who debuted for Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2015, scoring 439 runs in 14 innings at an average of 33.77 and a strike rate of 128.36, with four fifties. His best score was 83.

Will Priyansh continue his rise in IPL and end with a 500-run debut season that could help him secure the Indian T20I cap?

Squads:

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlett, Praveen Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Tim Seifert, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh, Blessing Muzarabani, Tim David, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh. (ANI)