(Source X)
The Indian T20I team enters a new era with the Zimbabwe tour starting this Saturday in Harare. Following the retirements of stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja after their T20 World Cup victory, the baton has been passed to young talents who have excelled in domestic cricket. Among them is Assam’s Riyan Parag, the first male cricketer from the state to earn a national call-up and soon to represent his country.
Although Assam boasts an international cricket stadium, it has yet to produce an international player. Riyan could make history as the first cricketer from India’s northeastern region if he gets a chance in the upcoming five-match series in Zimbabwe.
Since his debut in the U-19 World Cup in 2018, Riyan has rapidly progressed, earning a spot in the Rajasthan Royals squad the following year and becoming a key player for the team.
Despite showcasing his potential, Riyan has faced heavy criticism on social media, particularly during IPL seasons, where failures often led to trolling.
Despite the social media scrutiny, Riyan’s parents shielded him from its impact.
Riyan’s father, Parag Das, a former First-class cricketer, mentions that protecting his son from online criticism wasn’t challenging for the family, as Riyan knows how to handle such situations.
“For us, it was easy. Actually, we spoke about that trolling part a few years back. So, I asked him a question whose answer I knew but I wanted to hear it from Riyan. I asked what he would do about this unending trolling. He said, ‘Papa what wrong am I doing? I have done nothing and still, this is the condition. What if I had done something’,” Das told CricketNext in an exclusive conversation during IPL 2024.
“That was the answer I wanted to hear from him. If the public is criticizing you, that means they expect you to perform. He only let the fans expect from him and when he wasn’t performing, they would surely criticized him. I asked him to think about how to get those praises back and performance was the only key to it,” he added.
Driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement, Riyan’s recent domestic season showcased remarkable strides.
He topped the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament with 510 runs at a blistering strike rate of 182.79, also bagging 11 wickets. His standout performances continued in the Deodhar Trophy for East Zone, where he amassed 354 runs, the highest in the tournament, alongside 11 wickets. Transitioning to the Ranji Trophy, Riyan maintained his form, scoring 378 runs at an impressive average of 75.60, including two centuries.
Entering IPL 2024 in peak form, Riyan initially led the Orange Cap race and finished as his team’s top scorer and third overall, tallying 573 runs at a strike rate of 149.22—a career-best IPL season.
Despite rumors linking him to the T20 World Cup squad, Riyan missed out but earned a call-up for India’s Zimbabwe tour starting July 6 in Harare. Former India cricketer and selector Saba Karim expressed confidence in Riyan’s resilience, foreseeing a successful future whenever he gets the opportunity.
“I think he’s a very balanced lad. In fact, I was expecting him to do well in the last 2023 IPL because he had a fabulous domestic season before that. Unfortunately, due to some reason, he was not able to perform up to his potential,” Karim said in response to News18 CricketNext query.
“I’m really glad that he could convert his domestic form into IPL form also this season around. So he’s got a solid base now. I think he comes from a very, very stable environment and I think all that will help him to overcome whatever hurdles he has faced in his life so far in terms of social media trolling.
“And he’s such a strong character. For him to still be focused on his game and not worry about the outside factors about which he has no control, that itself shows the kind of character he has. And if he can continue in the same way and I’m sure he’ll do well whenever he gets an opportunity to play for India,” he added
