The middle-order batter for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Riyan Parag, made his ODI debut for the national side against Sri Lanka during the third and final game of the series at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
With India bowling first in the game, Parag showed his skills with the ball in hand, having ended with a bowling figure of 3/54 in nine overs. However, during the chase of 249 runs, he couldn’t contribute much with the bat in hand, ending with just 15 runs in 13 deliveries with the help of a couple of boundaries.
Riyan Parag came into the scene of making an international debut on the back of his successful 2024 season in the IPL. The middle-order batter finished as the third-highest run-getter of the event, with 573 runs in 14 innings at an average of over 52 and a strike rate of nearly 150, with the help of four fifties, at a best score of unbeaten 84 runs.
“Mature, Driven and Sorted”- Riyan Parag reveals three words to describe himself
By the time he gets his first ODI cap, the Assam-born had already marked his name in international cricket when he was selected, in the playing XI of the recent Zimbabwe series. Riyan Parag didn’t get a lot of chances in the series but later was called in the Sri Lanka trip.
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In the shortest format of the game, India’s long quest has been to find a batter who could roll his arms in crucial times to provide them a valuable balance in the side. He finished with magical numbers of 3/5 in one of the games at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.
In a video that has gone viral, shared by the Rajasthan Royals in the ‘X’ account (formerly known as Twitter), the youngster was asked to describe himself in three words.
“Should I go cliché? Calm, cool, and collected?” Riyan Parag thought for a second before coming up with three new words. “But no, I will say mature, more driven and sorted. Those three words.”
The 22-year-old has notched up 57 runs for India in a small sample size of six games in this format, at an average of 14.25 and a strike rate of 111.76, with the help of his best score of 26 runs. In 104 T20 innings, he has notched up 2673 runs at an average of 32.20 at a strike rate of over 142, with the help of 22 half-centuries, having a best score of unbeaten 84 runs.
In 50 List-A games, he has managed to record 1735 runs in 45 innings at an average of 41.30 and a strike rate of over 102.66, celebrating five centuries and eight fifties with a best score of 174 runs.
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There was a point of time towards the start of his career when he was blamed for showing attitude, but he has earned success over the years with runs coming off his blade. That has made him mature, and by getting the national cap, he has also become more driven.
In 50 innings of first-class cricket, Riyan Parag has aggregated 1798 runs at an average of 36.69 with a strike rate of around 70, with the help of 11 half-centuries and three fifties, at a best score of 155. He will aim to be regular for the national team in both the white-ball formats in the future.