Priyam, who grew up in the village of Quila Parikshitgarh, about 25 kilometres from Meerut, first picked up a bat and ball when he was six years old. Priyam Garg has overcome adversity to leave an indelible mark on the cricketing landscape.
Career
Domestic Career
At the age of 17, Priyam Garg made his senior debut for Uttar Pradesh Cricket in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Saurashtra in September 2018. The next month, he was playing in the Ranji Trophy, and in his first game against Goa, he scored a century. He scored his first double century in first-class cricket in a match against Tripura in December 2018.
Garg had amassed 814 runs in 10 matches by the time the top domestic competition concluded. It was Uttar Pradesh’s second-highest total in the 2018-19 season, when they reached the quarter-finals. Garg’s potential was obvious from the start, as he had a half-century in his first season with the Uttar Pradesh under-14 team, when he was just 12 years old.
U-19 Career
Garg’s career is yet to achieve its peak, but he achieved a major landmark last December when he was elected captain of the India U-19 squad for the World Cup in South Africa. With Garg taking over as India’s captain, he joins the likes of Virat Kohli (2008), Mohd Kaif (2000), and Prithvi Shaw (2018), who have all gone on to play for the senior national team. He led India to the playoffs, where they came agonisingly close to winning their fifth world championship. Priyam, on the other hand, didn’t do as well as he would have liked in the World Cup.
IPL career
Sunrisers Hyderabad has signed Priyam Garg for IPL 2020 for a fee of Rs 1.90 crore. His ‘senior’ record explains why: a first-class average of 66.69, a List-A average of 47.13, and a T20 strike rate of 132.74 more than compensated for the U-19 WC disappointment. In terms of his development at the highest level of cricket, the 2020 season may be crucial for the youngster.
Background
Priyam was one of five children of Naresh Garg, a school van driver in the Quila Parikshitgarh village near Meerut, who could not afford to buy a cricket kit when he was a child. When the junior India star was just 11 years old, his mother died. His father had to borrow money from a friend to purchase a package of pads, bat, and other equipment for him. The youngster was urged to focus on honing his talents rather than worrying about the family’s financial situation.
The Victoria Park Ground in Meerut, where many aspiring cricketers from the city, including Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, took their first steps onto a bigger stage, was 20 kilometres from Garg’s hometown. Priyam Garg, on the other hand, remained unfazed and is able to light up the IPL stage once more.