How ‘mentally tough’ Riyan Parag overcame social media abuse to play the pressure-releasing innings for Rajasthan Royals

A day prior to the Rajasthan Royals’ tournament opener against Lucknow Super Giants, Parag Das called his son Riyan and asked him: “Do you know why they troll you?” Pat came the reply: “Dad there is expectation, people want me to succeed, and that’s why I am at the receiving end. The day I will start scoring consistently, these trolls will sing my name.”

That day Parag Das, a former first-class cricketer himself, sensed things will change for his son in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

In the first match, Riyan Parag scored a 29-ball 43 against Lucknow. But the pressure-releasing knock from the youngster came on Thursday against Delhi Capitals when he walloped an unbeaten 84 off 45 deliveries, and it came at a moment when Royals were reeling at 36 for 3 with their explosive top three back in the hut.

“It’s the fruit of a lot of practice. I’m a little emotional. I’m witnessing the result of my hard work,” Riyan Parag told the broadcaster during the mid-innings break.

Riyan is only 22. He has yet to feature for the country, and has not been on the fringes of national selection either. Yet he is among the most trolled cricketers in the country, especially during the IPL. Whether his talent is good enough to strike it big, or he’s just hype, has tended to divide opinion.

“He is mentally very tough,” his father Parag Das told The Indian Express.

Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag plays a shot during the IPl 2024 T20 cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals at SMS Stadium, in Jaipur. (PTI)

“The kind of trolling, criticism, and abuse he has received on social media is cruel. Me and my wife (Mithu Baruah), both are athletes. I have played cricket, she has been a national-level swimmer and we know how tough most of the time, sports can be. This is where he has got this attitude,” said Parag Das.

During the post-match presentation, a visibly emotional Parag credited his mother’s support during his struggle and also opened up about why his opinion of himself never changed throughout these years. He said: “Emotions are settled. Mom’s here as well. She’s seen the struggle, she’s seen the last four or five years.

“I know what my opinion is about myself. No matter what anyone says, I don’t let that change. That has never changed regardless of whether I’m performing or not performing. That constant support from myself to myself always helps.”

In his recent interaction with this newspaper, the cricketer from Assam had opened up about how he reached a stage where he no longer cared about criticism as he had developed troll-immunity. “People have a problem with me chewing gum. If my collar is up, that’s a problem. I celebrate after taking a catch, that’s a problem. They have a problem with me gaming and playing golf in my off time,” he had said.

Parag has faced backlash on social media because of his on-field antics. The all-rounder despite being part of the Royals franchise for past five years, had failed to justify his hype and that hefty price tag of Rs 3.8 crores.

The change in batting position

Riyan has had a stellar domestic season. In Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, he was the leading run-getter with 510 runs at a strike rate of 182.79 and he also picked up 11 wickets. In the Deodhar Trophy, playing for East Zone, he hammered 354 runs in five matches, the most in the tournament and also picked up 11 wickets bowling off-spin. He carried his form into the Ranji Trophy, where he amassed 378 runs at an average of 75.60 in four matches, including two centuries.

The one common thing was that he batted at No 4 for Assam in all three formats.

It’s been one of the recurring queries over the past few seasons – how long can Rajasthan persist with Parag? The hype has been there since he first arrived on the IPL stage, but the returns haven’t come. (Sportzpics)

“He represents Assam and truth be told we don’t have that kind of depth or talent in our squad that you can see in Mumbai, Karnataka or a Tamil Nadu team. He has that added pressure to do well for Assam as well. I told him at the start of the season that this is going to be your plus point as well because you have more responsibility. He handled it maturely and I guess the domestic grind automatically hardens you. It has worked massively in his favour,” said Parag Das.

Parag also shared how after closely monitoring his performance in domestic cricket, Rajasthan Royals team director Kumar Sangakkara and captain Sanju Samson had made up their minds that this season, Riyan will bat at No 4.

“Earlier, he was playing at No 6 or 7. He was not getting to face too many balls. He was hardly getting 5 or 6 balls. Even if he was getting 10 overs to bat, generally half the side is already back in the pavilion. In that situation, he had to bat with the tail and keep the scoring rate high as well. Batting at 6 and 7 in T20 cricket is all about luck, only once in a blue moon, you will get to hit four or five sixes in an over,” said Parag.

Backing from Royals

Earlier this month, Rajasthan Royals’ High-Performance Director and former Mumbai batsman Zubin Bharucha, who has played a significant role in the rise of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel had spoken about how highly the team management rates the underperforming Riyan Parag.

“There is healthy competition among the youngsters in our team and the mindset of Riyan is that he wants to out-do his friends Jaiswal and Jurel. We have seen how far Jaiswal and Jurel can hit the ball. Riyan actually hits the ball even further than these two. Wait till he comes on board, you will see even a bigger difference,” Bharucha had told this newspaper.

Bharucha’s prediction has come true and in the first two matches of this season, Parag has shown why the Royals management has trusted him all these years despite so many failures.

“The RR has also backed him. You don’t see that often. I kept reminding him why they are backing him. I kept telling him ‘They have seen the talent and potential in you. You have something in you, just stick to the process,” says Parag Das.

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