Who is Vaibhav Arora? – All you need to know about PBKS' pace-bowling sensation

Punjab Kings comprehensively defeated Chennai Super Kings by 54 runs on Sunday (April 3) to record their second win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The defending champions never really looked in the hunt as they were bundled out for just 126 while chasing 181 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Meanwhile, young pacer Vaibhav Arora was instrumental in Punjab’s triumph in the game.

His selection in the playing XI initially raised several eyebrows as he had come at the expense of veteran pacer Sandeep Sharma, who has a ton of experience in the IPL. However, the youngster justified his decision with a stellar show on his IPL debut. He dismissed the likes of Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali inside the powerplay overs, breaking the backbone of CSK’s batting line-up.

He eventually finished with figures of 2/21 in his quota of four overs. It must be noted that Vaibhav delivered this stellar spell on the same track, where PBKS batters like Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, and even another debutant Jitesh Sharma tonked the ball. However, the right-arm pacer was too hot to handle for CSK players.

Meanwhile, let’s look at a few facts you need to know about Vaibhav Arora:

1. Vaibhav Arora was born on December 14, 1997. He is a 24-year-old as of now.

2. Arora plays for Himachal Pradesh in the domestic circuit and made his First-Class debut in 2019 against Saurashtra.

3. The right-arm pacer made his T20 debut against Chhattisgarh in 2021.

4. PBKS had roped in Arora as a net bowler for IPL 2020.

5. Vaibhav Arora had earlier been part of the Kolkata Knight Riders but didn’t get a chance to make his debut.

6. PBKS bought the uncapped pacer for INR 2 crore in the mega auction after a stiff bidding war with Kolkata Knight Riders.

7. Vaibhav has been playing alongside fellow PBKS pacer Arshdeep Singh since junior-level cricket. The duo is known to share a great bond.

8. Vaibhav contemplated quitting cricket a few years back amid financial issues but his childhood coach Ravi Verma kept him motivated.