Vaibhav Arora Exclusive: ‘KKR Are My Family, They Changed My Entire Life’

‘I thought of giving up on cricket, and even went home.’

Vaibhav Arora wouldn’t have even lived his dream as a cricketer if not for an intervention from his coach, Ravi Kumar Verma. In 2018, a 20-year-old Vaibhav was all but sure that his attempt at becoming a cricketer had seen a full stop, after he failed to get through Punjab’s acclaimed grassroots system. 

Then came the phone call that transformed his entire life. 

“My coach, Ravi Kumar Verma, told me, ‘If you have financial problems, you come to Chandigarh and practise in my academy. There is no fee for the hostel or food; everything will be free. That year, I gave my all, I worked incredibly hard with my coach, and it paid off. 

“In 2019, I played for Himachal in the U-23 format, after which I was selected for the Ranji Trophy. Later, I got the opportunity to play in the IPL. It all started from there.” Vaibhav told Cricket.com in an exclusive. 

However, during his entire struggle, his family had never asked him to quit cricket; in fact, if anything, it was his family who pushed him hard to give the sport another chance. As it worked out, Vaibhav soon switched his base to Himachal Pradesh, a place that he now calls his cricketing ‘home’. 

Despite his initial impressions at the district level, the pacer faced another setback in his second stint as a cricketer, a little fracture which then ruled him out of the selection camp that year, making his 2018 go from bad to worse.

“I got a chance to play in a district in 2018 [for Himachal]. Then I performed well in the district. But I got injured in the selection camp that year—I had a little fracture in my foot. That year was bad for me,” he added. 

A year later, though, Vaibhav had put aside all those bad fortunes, when the 21-year-old then scalped wickets for fun at the U-23 level. He didn’t just go on to make it to the Himachal Pradesh senior team, but also quickly found himself brushing shoulders with some of the biggest stars at Punjab Kings (PBKS) when he joined them as the net bowler. 

“2019 was my career-changing year. I played in the U-23 team and became the highest wicket-taker in India. Then I played in the Ranji Trophy and got 30 wickets. Then I went to net bowler with Punjab Kings. In 2019, I got everything in my life. I started getting everything,” the KKR star said with a gentle smile. 

While the domestic success gave him a career, it was the call from the Kolkata Knight Riders that provided him with security, a home, and a family.

“KKR are like a family to me; everything I have achieved in my IPL life is all because of KKR. I’m here, all because of KKR. I remember I was picked the first time in 2021, and life has changed since then. I have been here for the last 4-5 years, and KKR means everything to me – they are my parents, family and everything,” the youngster said. 

When exactly did he know that he had made it big in life? The day when King Khan spoke to the youngster, calling him by his name. 

“When I was picked by KKR in 2021, there was a pandemic. So I didn't have many people around because you have to stay in quarantine for a week. I talked to SRK [Shahrukh Khan] on a video call for the first time. When he talked to me, he asked me how I was. I was shocked that he knew my name. I was talking to him like I am talking to you. I was sweating. I couldn't imagine that I am talking to a Bollywood star.”

“I was nervous. But I liked him. He is humble and kind. He spoke to me as if I were his younger brother. That's why he is my favourite. He is not a celebrity; he is a human. That was my SRK story.”

Three years later, he had earned himself all the rights to now party with the great SRK, having played an underrated role in KKR’s third title win, triumphing all top batters with his new-ball bowling, scalping 11 wickets, averaging just 25.09 with the ball. 

In fact, it was during that season when KKR had extensively used the Himachal pacer as their new ball weapon alongside Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, with Harshit Rana joining as the pace troika. The trio were one of the reasons behind KKR’s success in the year, especially in the playoffs, when they blew off Sunrisers Hyderabad’s incredible batting strength.

It was that playoff phase of IPL 2024 which triggered a new trend: "Only if we had Vaibhav Arora on November 19, India would have won the World Cup." In the IPL 2024 final, the right-arm pacer not just silenced Travis Head but also led KKR to an IPL trophy, dismissing the Australian opener for a one-ball duck. Across three innings, he dismissed the left-hander twice.

“I have seen it [the trend] a lot on Instagram. My plan for Travis Head was simple: pitch the ball full and take it away from the left-hander. That was the plan that I had after all the research and hard work in the nets. Luckily, it all paid off as I got his wicket in the IPL 2024 final. Whenever we have played them, I have done well against him. I worked hard on getting the plans right,” Vaibhav said. 

However, despite his undisputed impact with the new ball in 2024, Vaibhav felt his job wasn't complete: he was determined to prove he could be an all-phase pacer.

“Actually, I used to bowl a lot in the death overs earlier too, so I was confident I could bowl in those tough phases. In 2024, I didn’t have many opportunities to bowl during that phase, and I was only able to bowl with the new ball. If you remember that year, we had Harshit [Rana] and Mitchell Starc, so we were doing well in death overs. I was doing well in practice games. I practised a lot on bowling at death in 2024/25,” he recollected. 

With no Starc now and KKR not having an able pacer in that role, the responsibility widened for Vaibhav, who was now relying on newer things like slower bouncer, yorker, wide yorkers to yield him results. 

“You should have the confidence and be able to execute it. Now, I have added a slower leg cutter to my arsenal as well, and I’m bowling that slower bouncer. I have been doing a lot of spot bowling in 2024, where I have been practising on my yorkers, wide yorkers and off-stump yorkers. Last year, I did bowl a lot of yorkers; it is still a work in progress. It is hard work, but I’m doing it all in the off-season.”

At the start of IPL 2025, the Himachal pacer was seen closely practising his death-over skills in the nets under the watchful eye of Dwayne Bravo, a renowned T20 death-over specialist, and KKR’s mentor. 

Those helpful training sessions ultimately made the right-arm pacer more comfortable at the death, testing it out in the nets against KKR’s finishers – Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh. 

“Exactly what I did last year [IPL 2025]. Bravo shared his plans and experiences. I got a lot of help on what field to bowl, which end to use, for which batsman, which yorker is wide, and what field to bowl. We used to practice a lot in nets. I used to bowl at Raman [deep], and Bravo helped me to understand what I have to do in different conditions. I want to credit those practice sessions for training me well.”

That preparation for an expanded role became crucial when Mitchell Starc left the franchise for the 2025 season. With the foreign pace combination changing, the responsibility on Arora and Harshit Rana in the death overs increased significantly. While Arora stepped up with 17 wickets, KKR still struggled, finishing in the bottom half of the table.

“Last year, we [KKR] didn't have death overs with foreign fast bowlers like Mitchell Starc in '24. This time it was Harshit and me. This time around, Spencer was in and out. So there was no combination in the bowling lineup. In 2024, Starc, Harshit, me, and we had IPL's best spinners, Varun Bhai and Sunil Narine. So it becomes a complete package, which we lacked last year. This year, we have a lot of money in our purse, so we will go big at the auction.”

Following the mixed results and the identified need for a stronger domestic core, the franchise made a significant change in the setup, roping in Abhishek Nayar as the new head coach. While on paper, it is a considerable change and responsibility, Nayar won’t be a new face to a lot of KKR’s core players, as he was part of the IPL 2024 winning setup.

“When I came to KKR’s setup in 2021, I used to talk to him [Abhishek Nayar]. He used to motivate me. We don't feel we are talking to a coach. We talk to them like an elder brother. I have worked with him for 4-5 years, and this year, as a head coach, I am excited. This is a new role.

“We will learn a lot. We have camped regularly with him almost every month. The bonding that we have with him will be useful as a head coach. If you have worked with him for so many years, he has confidence, and we have it. So the combination will be useful.”

Seven years ago, Vaibhav almost walked away from cricket. Now, he has won an IPL title with KKR, become one of their main bowlers and is ensuring that all those hard yards back then are now reaping their rewards. 

He might originally be from Ambala or have settled in Himachal Pradesh, but his heart beats ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo’ in its truest sense in the City of Joy, Kolkata.

Please Note: Vaibhav Arora is managed by FairPlay Sports