Who is Salil Arora? 5 interesting facts about Punjab batter who smashed 125* in PUN vs JHA SMAT 2025-26 match

Punjab wicket-keeper batter Salil Arora wreaked havoc in the Super League stage clash against Jharkhand on Friday, December 12, in Pune. He struck a stunning, unbeaten, 125 runs off 45 deliveries to help his side post a mammoth total of 235-6.

Salil Arora managed to reach the three-figure mark off just 39 deliveries, making it one of the fastest hundreds recorded by an Indian batter in T20 cricket. The uncapped batter's exploits right before the upcoming 2026 IPL Auction are likely to make him a prime target, after already being on the radar of scouts.

On that note, let us take a look at five interesting facts about Salil Arora following his heroics against Jharkhand in the 2025-26 SMAT.

#1 Salil Arora scored a hundred on his first-class debut

Salil Arora made his first-class debut during the 2024 Ranji Trophy clash against Madhya Pradesh. He made an instant impression with a gritty first innings ton to help his team post 277 after coming into bat at 48-5.

He scored 27 runs in the second innings, as the contest ended in a draw in Chandigarh. The wicket-keeper was adjudged player of the match on his debut for his efforts that rescued the Punjab outfit.

#2 He is in the IPL 2026 Auction at a base price of INR 30 Lakh

Franchises will have the opportunity to acquire his services at the IPL Auction as he is part of the curated 350-player list with a base price of INR 30 Lakh.

He shares the Punjab dressing room with several high-profile players like Abhishek Sharma, Naman Dhir, Arshdeep Singh, and Prabhsimran Singh, who are already well-established in the league. Arora could well be the next big player from Punjab to leave his mark in the competition in the near future.

#3 Sail Arora was part of the Indian team that won the 2019 U-19 Asia Cup

Salil Arora was named in the Indian U-19 side led by Dhruv Jurel that travelled to Sri Lanka and won the 2019 U-19 Asia Cup. He got the opportunity to play one match, against Afghanistan, where he scored a patient 29 in a tricky, low-scoring run chase.

On that occasion, he had opened the batting, and shared a crucial partnership with Baroda batter Shashwat Rawat. Arora ended up being dismissed by none other than star spinner Noor Ahmad, who is a regular feature in both franchise and international cricket.

#4 Salil Arora has the second-highest strike rate in 2025-26 SMAT

Salil Arora has been in sublime form for Punjab in the ongoing SMAT tournament, featuring in the crucial middle-order role. So far, his 266 runs in six matches has come at a strike rate of 206.20, which is the second-highest for a batter who has faced at least 100 balls. The list is topped by none other than his teammate, Abhishek Sharma.

#5 Salil Arora had to endure a long wait amid a selection scandal in Punjab cricket

There is hardly a player in Indian cricket who has navigated the journey without any hiccup, especially in the youth and domestic circuit, where other factors apart from merit also unfortunately comes into play.

During his Punjab U-19 days, Arora had to wait for his chance as the chief selector's son was preferred ahead of him for the state youth team.

“They have ignored Salil Arora of Amritsar (also a wicketkeeper/batsman), who scored 198 runs in eight innings and was the member of the winning team. This is sheer injustice to players like Salil Arora, who have done nothing wrong but have become victim of corruption in the game," Punjab Cricket Player Association President Bhupinder Singh had told Tribune in 2017.