Hattrick not enough for KKR rookie Vaibhav, eyes consistent showing ahead of IPL

By Anuj Mishra
New Delhi [India], February 24 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh pacer Vaibhav Arora is on a high these days as he was not only picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League auction, but also picked a hattrick against Maharashtra in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
But the 23-year-old is not ready to slow down. He wishes to keep the tempo going and script more match-winning performances going into the IPL. In fact, the pacer wishes to fine-tune his skills further in the IPL camp when he gets to share the training ground with stalwarts like Australia pace spearhead Pat Cummins and New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson. Not to forget skipper Eoin Morgan.
“He (Morgan) is a big player and I will now get to share the dressing room with him and also with Cummins and Ferguson. So I am very excited, as I will get to learn from those two bowlers. I will take tips from Cummins and Ferguson to improve my bowling further.
“I had in mind to ask the premier fast bowlers in the world that how do they train, what is their diet and how do they maintain their fitness to bowl consistently in Test cricket. And now I will get the chance to ask them how they manage to bowl 30, 40 overs in Test cricket and will surely take some tips,” he told ANI.
KKR bought Vaibhav for his base price of Rs 20 lakh, but the fast bowler had also caught the eyes of the selectors when he was with Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) during IPL 2020 as the net bowler. He was called for the trials by KKR and was optimistic about his selection in either of the two teams.
“I thought that I would be selected for the Punjab Kings as I had impressed the coaches and players. I thought I might get a chance in Punjab (formerly KXIP) for this year’s IPL and then all depended on how things pan out in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“My selection in KKR wasn’t that surprising as I had given trials for KKR and a player gets to know where he stands looking at his own performance during the sessions. And I was optimistic of my chances as I had done well in the trials,” he explained.
The road into IPL 2021 isn’t going to be easy, but Vaibhav is eyeing good performances in the one-day domestic tournament to stake his claim in the playing XI.
“The moment I got picked, I had in mind that the competition would be tough considering the strong bowling department of KKR. So I have to perform well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to get into the playing XI. So my plan is to perform well in the Vijay Hazare and to get a go-ahead in the XI for the IPL,” he said.
While Vaibhav was confident about his selection in the IPL auction, his mom and dad weren’t able to control their tears when informed about him being picked by KKR.
“Was watching the IPL auction after my practice. My name got called at 7:30 pm and KKR picked me. Since then I have been flooded with congratulatory messages. I called my mom but couldn’t talk anything as she was crying the whole time. So I called papa to inform him but he too was crying then I had to inform my younger brother about my selection,” he revealed. (ANI)