Fortune swings: Vaibhav Arora’s exciting cricket career

The pacer for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Vaibhav Arora, says Cricbuzz, “I packed my stuff from Chandigarh and left for home.” Arora, a 21-year-old from Ambala, a tiny village around 50 km from Chandigarh, wanted to quit playing the sport. His career was stagnating.

He was unable to secure a spot in the senior district-level teams or join the Punjab Under-19 squad. After waiting long enough, he had come to the conclusion that he would not succeed as a professional cricket player.

Furthermore, losses in their dairy business had caused his family to experience a severe financial crisis. It was impossible to keep up with the costs of his training in Chandigarh.

His development with KKR in the IPL over the past two seasons is a far cry from this. In contrast to 2018, he is hopeful and has “everything I could’ve asked for” in 2025.

The Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad after a fierce battle over the Eden Gardens pitch, giving them a surface on which to use their greatest weapon, the spin attack. But Arora destroyed SRH’s top order with a brilliant display of swing bowling before the spinners could even start, and the match was decided in the powerplay itself. He didn’t hold off till the pitch had finished.

He is no longer into waiting.

At the age of 26, Vaibhav Arora realised he was good enough to compete against the world’s top batters during the previous season. The explanation was straightforward: a campaign that began with a three-wicket return in his opening game gained steam and culminated in a team victory and 11 wickets for his cat. He was aware that he had contributed, whether it was acknowledged in public or not.

Perhaps KKR’s potent spin attack and explosive hitters received a lot of attention during the season, but its coaching staff received less. However, although the seasoned Mitchell Starc was struggling for the majority of the league stage, Vaibhav Arora and his other inexperienced Indian speed partner, Harshit Rana, held the pace attack tight.

While Rana advanced through the ranks and played for the national team over the following few months, Starc appeared in the crucial elimination matches.

Vaibhav Arora remained in use as an Impact Substitute in the interim.

His coach Ravi Kumar Varma, who was the first to discourage Arora from giving up cricket, has been instrumental in making this change. He encouraged Arora to go back, knowing that his financial predicament back home had him stressed. To strengthen his case, he even provided free training at his academy and free lodging at his hostel.

Arora recalls the talk with his coach: “He asked me to be patient and believed in me.” “So I thought I will give it another try, maybe for one or two years to see if something comes out of it.”

Arora moved to Himachal Pradesh in 2018 in an attempt to restart his career, and a year later he was playing for the Himachal Under-23 team.

It wasn’t easy to wait until then. During times of uncertainty, he would return to his coach, who would reassure him. “I would go and speak with him whenever I felt like losing my patience. He supported me during that time. ‘You can’t quit like this,’ he would remark. You simply continue to play.

The ascent of Arshdeep Singh, his long-time friend with whom he played age-group and college-level cricket, was another factor that sustained his motivation throughout that frustration. “Arsh’s professional success gave me hope that I could reach his level of success as well. It inspired me to keep up my diligent job.

The perseverance and diligence paid off. He made his first-class debut by the end of 2019. Additionally, he participated in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy within two years. He was also selected by the Punjab Kings to play as a net bowler during the 2020 IPL season in between his red and white ball debuts.

In less than two years, he went from being unable to play district-level cricket to bowling to the best international players, and he continued to get harsh, important lessons.

“When I was a net bowler with Punjab, I realised while I had all the skills, I wasn’t using my variations at the right time.”

These teachings came thick and fast, both on and off the pitch, and he was content to take them all in. It was the way senior bowler Mitchell Starc conducted himself off the pitch of play in the KKR setup. Mitchell Starc taught me the value of self-assurance, how to strengthen your areas of weakness, and how to keep a lifestyle journal—that is, to stick to a routine and be diligent about it. He had a very strict regimen that he followed no matter what. The amount of work he puts into his training is evident on the pitch.

However, Dwayne Bravo, the KKR Mentor, is teaching him new skills, such as how to play with the field settings and how to bowl in the last overs. Even the coaches have taken notice of his tremendous learning. The KKR assistant coach, Ottis Gibson, lavished praise on his and Rana’s growth.

Life has changed significantly in just a few years. “From not being able to afford the rent of my house to now having everything that I could’ve wished for, a lot has changed.”

What would the 27-year-old Vaibhav advise his 21-year-old self now that the patience and the persistence appear to be working?

He chuckles as he recalls his previous self—the impatient person who was uncertain about the future and who was enduring hardships without the benefits he had promised. “I would advise you to never give up on your dreams and to always work hard, no matter what. You will be rewarded for it one day.

With the benefit of hindsight, Vaibhav Arora isn’t moaning that life in the fast lane wasn’t fast enough.