Delhi Premier League (DPL) has proved to be an excellent platform for the talented cricketers in the state who are showing off their skills on the field at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The 20-year-old youngster Arpit Rana is one of them and has impressed many playing for the Purani Dilli franchise. He has so far scored 242 runs in eight matches in DPL with two half-centuries and believes that the exposure he is getting from the competition is huge.
"Delhi Premier League is huge for youngsters like me. There cannot be a better platform or exposure than DPL according to me," Arpit said in an exclusive interview with India TV. At the age of 20, Arpit has already made his first-class debut playing two matches last season for Delhi where he got the backing of senior players during the Ranji Trophy.
"When I scored a century in a U23 game, I got the Ranji Trophy call-up for the first time. I made my Ranji debut against Uttarakhand and felt nice after I found my name in the XI. Seniors like Yash Dhull, and Navdeep Saini bhaiya backed me and it was a good experience," Arpit said of his experience so far playing top-flight cricket.
Cricket came naturally for the left-hander when he started playing the sport at the age of 8 and there was no dearth of support at all in his family as they, especially his father, backed him to the hilt to make it big. "I started playing cricket at the age of 8 and my first coach was Pradeep Kochar sir and then as I kept playing, I got opportunities to play in state cricket, and now in DPL. My entire family has been supportive right from the start," the youngster stated.
In India, a kid grows up watching his/her favourite players thanks to the following of the sport in the country. Arpit was no different to it as he loved watching the elegant left-handers Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan bat. Among the current lot, the dashing batter is amazed with Rishabh Pant who is also from Delhi and batted alongside Arpit in the opening game of the DPL.
The way Pant made him comfortable while batting, Arpit is still in awe and revealed that India's star cricketer suggested the players to keep working hard. "I used to watch Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan's batting in my childhood. I am a huge fan of both Yuvraj and Dhawan. Now Rishabh bhaiya is also there and I love to watch these three players' batting.
"When I was batting with Rishabh bhaiya I never felt I was batting with such a big star. It felt like I was batting with one of my friends. I was feeling very calm and comfortable batting with him and enjoyed batting with him a lot. Even in the dressing room, he was sharing his experience with the team, asking us to keep working hard and eventually things will fall in place," Arpit added further.
Arpit Rana is among a generation of cricketers who love to go against the opposition bowlers right from the word go. He believes in smashing the first ball for a six and playing fewer dot balls, especially in T20 cricket. "I focus on playing attacking cricket, especially in the first six overs. If there is a chance to hit even the first ball of the match for a six, I go for it. My aim is to play less dot balls in a T20 game and convert loose balls into boundaries," the 20-year-old added.
Like a host of young cricketers across the world, Arpit harbours a dream of playing for India and in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He dreams of playing for the big three star-studded teams - Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings - alongside the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. "Playing in IPL is a dream. My favourite teams in IPL are MI, RCB and CSK. I would love to play for any of these teams in IPL if I get picked," the youngster opened up while speaking of his dream.
Arpit Rana is currently featuring in the DPL and his next target is to do well for Delhi at the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy that precedes the IPL 2025 mega auction. "Main focus after DPL is Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. I just want to score runs whenever and wherever I play and help my team win," he further said.
