'I Played The Ball, Not The Bowler': Salil Arora Recalls No-look Six Off Bumrah In IPL 2026

I played the ball, not the bowler: Salil Arora recalls no-look six off Bumrah in IPL 2026 (I played the ball, not the bowler: Salil Arora recalls no-look six off Jaspirt Bumrah in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Photo credit: @Salil Arora/Instagram)

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Punjab batter Salil Arora made headlines when he smashed a 10-ball 30 against Mumbai Indians in one of the matches during his debut Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he hit a spectacular no-look six off India pace icon Jasprit Bumrah.

Arora played a strong hand in the death overs in SRH's clash against five-time winners MI, as he helped his team chase down 244 at the Wankhede Stadium. Heinrich Klaasen led the chase with his unbeaten 30-ball 65, but Salil also made a strong impact coming in at No.6 in the death overs with his 30-run outing, which included three sixes and two fours.

He hit one of those maximums to Bumrah, a no-look hit straight down the ground to one of the best modern-day cricketers in the world. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Arora recalled his memorable knock, emphasising that his focus was not on the bowler, but on the ball rather.

"When I went to bat, there were a lot of big names in front of me. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav among others. So our senior players and coaches were just telling me, 'don't think that there are big players in front of you'. So when Bumrah came to bowl to me, I didn't think he was coming in. I played the ball, not the bowler, and backed my batting," Salil told IANS.

Arora, who is currently playing for Ludhiana Lions in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League, had a stellar outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, wherein he scored 358 runs, including an unbeaten 125 off 45 balls against Jharkhand. That helped him earn an IPL deal with SRH as he was picked for Rs 1.50 crore by the 2016 champions.

Arora reflected on the advice he received from the SRH leadership group and sharing the dressing room with the likes of Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.

Arora, who is currently playing for Ludhiana Lions in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League, had a stellar outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, wherein he scored 358 runs, including an unbeaten 125 off 45 balls against Jharkhand. That helped him earn an IPL deal with SRH as he was picked for Rs 1.50 crore by the 2016 champions.

"Like, there were 1-2 matches that didn't go well. They used to back me and motivate me that I will do it. And the coaches used to tell me that I am a good player and I will do it. So they didn't let my confidence go down. So in the end, positive results came," he added.

Article Source: IANS