Rajasthan Royals young sensation Riyan Parag remembered the time when the legend Virat Kohli helped him with his words of wisdom when he was going through a rough patch in his game. After his debut in 2019, Riyan Parag had a decent first season but he struggled to get runs in the next seasons and faced heavy criticism.
Rajasthan Royals chased their target of 180 with ease, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring an unbeaten century with a strike rate of 173.33 and Sandeep Sharma getting a brilliant fifer for just 18 runs in his 4 overs. Rajasthan Royals were very clinical in their performance yesterday. Mumbai Indians were set to go above 200 in their first innings but Rajasthan Royals managed to restrict them to 179 with Sandeep Sharma picking the crucial wicket of Tim David in the end.
Riyan Parag didn’t get a chance to bat but he has been one of the top run-getters in the team. He has transformed himself this season and has turned out to be an exciting prospect for the future. Rajasthan Royals has shown immense trust in him by promoting him up the order and he has performed really well.
Riyan Parag Recalled Virat Kohli’s words
While speaking about his chat with Virat Kohli to Jio Cinema he said :
“In my second year, I was having a bad phase in the IPL. I was discussing with him on how to get out of that phase and how he used to handle similar situations, so I can learn from his experience as well. He gave me a good 10-15 minutes of his time and shared a few things with me, I think that really helped me,”
Even after having a chat with Virat Kohli, until last season Riyan Parag really struggled to perform on the field and was the center of attention when it came to criticism. This year Riyan Parag has had a fantastic domestic season before the IPL 2024 where he hit 518 runs with a strike rate of 182 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Currently he is third on the list of orange cap holders with 318 runs.
Surreal Moment To be On The Same Field with MS Dhoni behind the wicket- Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag also mentioned that standing on the batting crease with Dhoni behind the stumps was a surreal feeling for the 19 year old back then. Dhoni being one the most successful captains in the IPL winning it 5 times.
“It was a surreal feeling. I don’t really remember how I was exactly feeling but I was nervous for sure. Playing against CSK, going in to bat, with Dhoni behind the wicket, was a surreal moment for sure, I’ll never forget that. I was more excited than nervous and enjoyed every bit of it,” said Riyan Parag.
Parag also spoke about how Rahul Dravid helped him on to how to conduct himself on the ground.
“I learnt a lot. Cricket-wise, we know he’s one of the best in the business, one of the greatest cricketers of our time. Outside cricket, how we should conduct ourselves, get involved with the crowd, social media, and how to generally present ourselves outside of cricket, is something I learnt a lot about, from him,” Parag added.
Parag seem to have taken inspiration and learnt from greats like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid. Thanks to Riyan Parag’s outstanding run with the bat, RR is currently placed on top of the IPL 2024 points table with six wins in seven games after their recent win against five time champions Mumbai Indians and are cruising towards the playoffs.