For Priyansh Arya, his childhood coach and mentor Sanjay Bhardwaj performs a very different role: teaching him how to train his mentality to overcome “second-season blues” in the IPL. Ricky Ponting is there to help him iron out technical difficulties in his game.
Delhi’s incredible left-hander Priyansh shot to fame last year when he scored 475 runs for Punjab Kings in his first season. Making sure his first season wasn’t an anomaly presented an even greater difficulty this season.
There are many Paul Valthatys and Swapnil Asnodkars in the IPL, but Gautam Gambhir’s coach, Bhardwaj, was always aware that Priyansh was a distinct kind of player.
The southpaw has demonstrated that he is not a flash in the pan and does not carry the typical “headweight” after one successful season, as evidenced by his 11-ball-39, 20-ball-57, and 37-ball-93 this season.
“This year, what I have been trying to tell him and hammer it in is this — when you enter the cricket ground, you are not supposed to carry a ‘headweight’ and feel like you have arrived, your social status has changed after last year’s performance.
“I told him ‘keep your ‘social status’ outside the stadium. The runs you have made is product of your hard work and blessings of Almighty,” Bhardwaj, the heart and soul of Delhi’s famous LB Shastri Club, was quoted by PTI.
Bhardwaj has trained hundreds of children over the past thirty years, so he is aware of the immediate fame that the IPL can bring to any young person.
“Normally what happens with kids who see instant success and riches after a season of IPL, they carry a lot of baggage. The on-field pressure of expectations and also at the back of your mind, the desperation to maintain the ‘stardom’ they had achieved in the first season.”
He has a “guru shishya” relationship with Priyansh, whose most charming trait is his capacity to pay attention and take in the most crucial aspect of any advice.
“Like Gautam Gambhir, I am also Priyansh’s mentor. Gautam from his early teenage days would always look out for me for advice, the same thing happens with Priyansh. Priyansh understands that ‘agar mere guru bol rahein hai kuch, toh woh mere bhale ke liye hi hoga (If my coach is advising me on something, it’s for my own good).”
Bhardwaj also acknowledged Priyansh’s parents, who are both teachers, for keeping him grounded following an incredible first IPL season.
“Even his parents played a massive role. Both are government school teachers. They told Priyansh that we are sorted and you don’t need to think about us. Rather you focus on your game and when you would turn your back, we would be standing right there. That’s how you help a talent blossom.”
These days, Bhardwaj spends nearly ten months of the year in Bilkisganj, on the outskirts of Bhopal, where he has constructed a residential cricket academy in the shape of a “Gurukul,” where young trainees are not permitted to falter in their pursuit of perfection.
“Priyansh had trained here before 2025 IPL. This time, he came for a few days. This is a remote area, distraction free. I don’t allow trainees to use mobile phone for more than one hour a day. The lights are switched off by 9:30 pm and everyone needs to be at the ground next day by 6 am. I pay for at least 25 to 30 tournaments that we participate across India,” Bhardwaj proudly stated.
Priyansh is unique in that he traveled to Mansa, Punjab, with the LB Shastri squad this year prior to the IPL.
“Biggest character trait that I have found in Priyansh is that the IPL razzmatazz hasn’t changed him one bit. He wanted to do match practise before IPL. He came with us to Mansa and scored a 28-ball century. He hasn’t tinkered with his strengths. His forte is tremendous bat-speed with hand eye co-ordination and playing the ball late. He sticks to those,” Bhardwaj laughed.
Priyansh called his coach late on Sunday night following the match against LSG.
“He called up at 1 am after getting back to the hotel. Today morning, he did a video call with our trainees. They also get excited when they see their Priyansh bhaiyya motivating them.”
In contrast to other coaches, Bhardwaj is very realistic about how much and how he can assist his ward.
“What is the job of a coach?,” he asked rhetorically.
“To create a conducive environment for his students and allow them to maximise their potential.
“Coaches player nahi banate hain. Coach mahaul banata hai aur us mahaul ko kaunsa baccha kitna istemal karega, woh uske upar nirbhar hai. Agar coach player banata toh har player Gautam aur Priyansh bante. (Coaches don’t make players. They only create environment to help their students. Else all my students would have been Gautam Gambhir or Priyansh Arya.”
