The former Sri Lankan captain and head coach of Rajasthan Royals Kumar Sangakkara has highlighted that the remarkable international successes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel have inspired Riyan Parag to improve his game. In this year of IPL, Riyan Parag is playing at number four for Rajasthan Royals and he also got some good runs in the first match of the season.
The Royals have made a significant investment in the 22-year-old, who initially debuted for the franchise in 2019.
After his consistent performances as a finisher over several seasons, Parag has been moved up the batting order due to his enhanced work ethic and strong showings in domestic cricket. His debut at the new batting position was encouraging, as he scored a quickfire 43 off 29 balls in the Royals’ victory over LSG on March 24.
Praising Riyan Parag, the Sri Lankan legend said, “We looked at how he performed over the years. It is a difficult thing for someone like Riyan who has an overall game to only get the toughest parts of the game, where he has to come in and up the run rate at the death.”
He further added, “We all felt he has a much more important role to play for us. The hard work he has done and runs he has scored leading up to the season played a part in that decision.”
“Players have to repay the faith and he has made a great start and needs to keep reading the game well and trusting himself on what he can do at number 4. He is good against pace and spin and that number is ideal for him, concluded Sangakkara.”
