Shayan Ahmad Khan
Before the start of IPL 2023, Riyan Parag tweeted that his conscience told him he would hit four sixes in an over at some point that season.
Any 21-year-old making that kind of statement is bound to attract scrutiny, critics, trolls and praise. Parag didn’t have a good season in 2023, so the last bit wasn’t in evidence. However, a year later, he came close to fulfilling his own words, hitting Anrich Nortje for 25 runs (4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1) in the 20th over at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur to cap off his finest IPL innings: 84* off 45 balls against Delhi Capitals. His rescue act helped Rajasthan Royals recover from a precarious 36 for 3 in the 8th over.
“If I even got out for a zero on the first day, (like) the first ball Krunal bowled and I top-edged it, I’d be fine because I did everything right. Now this is just results. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I come back tomorrow,” Parag said after the match against the Capitals. He’s still only 22 years-old, but Parag’s words reflected a new maturity.Perhaps not performing well in previous seasons helped him discover a new perspective.
Parag’s first season in 2019 – when he wasn’t even 18 yet – heralded plenty of promise. He made 160 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 127, but his talent was evident. He had three scores above 40. His knocks against Mumbai Indians (43 off 29) and Kolkata Knight Riders (47 off 31) showcased his skills in a run chase. He also scored a 49-ball 50 against the Capitals when the team was reeling at 65 for 7, becoming the youngest half-centurion in the IPL.
Things did not exactly go to plan from there. He scored only 440 runs in 39 innings at an average of just 13.8 between 2020 to 2023. Many franchises might not have backed a player with these returns. The Royals management though, have given him a fixed run at No.4 this year, and that has paid rich dividends.
“We looked at how he has performed over the years. It’s a very difficult thing for someone like Riyan, who has an overall game, just to always only get the toughest parts of the game where he has to come in and up the run rate at the death,” Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals’ team director, explained while talking to ESPNcricinfo.
“We all felt that he has a much more important role that he can play for us. And the hard work that he did leading up to the season, all the runs he scored at domestic cricket, all played a part in that decision.”
The resurgence in Parag’s T20 form started in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy of 2023-24. He scored 510 runs at an average of 85 and a strike rate of 183 in ten innings for Assam. He was hitting a boundary once every 3.9 balls. Doing that with such consistency made it even more ridiculous. The second highest run-getter for the state, Rishav Das, scored 278 runs at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 125.
His form carried over to other formats too. He went on to become the highest run-getter (354 runs at an average of 88.5 and strike rate of 137) and joint third-highest wicket-taker (11 wickets at an economy rate of 4.8) in the 50-overs Deodhar Trophy. He also scored 378 runs at an average of 75.6 in the Ranji Trophy. Parag did not just come back to the IPL as a better T20 player – he improved himself in all three formats and on both sides of the ball.
Already, 2024 has been his most productive IPL season. He has scored 284 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 155 while averaging 71. A striking feature of his innings construction is that he starts slow, and gradually increases the speed at which he’s scoring. That is risky if you get out early. But Parag’s form and his acceleration game have been on point this season.
Parag has followed a similar template in all his games, so it is most likely a team plan. He explained it too, when he was asked about being at a run-a-ball at 26 runs in that innings against the Capitals.
“Sanga [Sangakkara] came in and Sanju [Samson] bhaiyya [brother] came in and told me to take it [the innings] deep. I was confident in myself that if I did take it deep I could get a lot of runs at the end. So someone coming in new…it isn’t that easy. For someone staying and knowing the wicket, it’s a little easier and I just backed myself.
“I know I’ve got the power and the strength to dig out yorker balls or even hit sixes off the short balls. So I’m just backing myself and whenever it comes, I’m going to hit a boundary. Sometimes it does work out and sometimes it doesn’t,” Parag said after the mid-innings break against the Capitals.
Parag tends to attack pace and knock it around when he’s facing the tweakers. He has been at his best against right-arm pace and left-arm wrist spin. He’s gotten out twice to left arm pace, though it is a sample size of only 21 balls. He is undismissed against spin, but he does not take on right-arm wrist-spin and left-arm finger spin.
Parag has been around the IPL for a while now, but this season might just be his big break. Previously, he was a utility cricketer. He was capable of contributing with his primary skill of batting, while sending down a few overs and being outstanding in the field. This year, his batting has peaked to a new level. His bowling, on the evidence of domestic cricket at least, has also developed further. And he continues to be among the best fielders around. A few more impact performances, and the calls for him to be included in the national side will grow louder.
