Rajasthan Royals are looking like the team to beat this Indian Premier League (IPL) season, thanks largely to the presence of devastating openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal. And their bowling is spearheaded by none other than Jofra Archer.
However, they are being led by a guy who has lost steam this season. This season RR have won four out of their five matches so far and are in third place on the points table at the time of writing this article, but Riyan Parag’s contribution with the bat in these matches is kind of next to nothing. Just 61 runs in six innings so far, including his 12 vs KKR today.
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Parag had given enough indication, even last season, that he was not captaincy material. After regular captain Sanju Samson was sidelined due to injury, Parag stepped into the breach but couldn’t deliver. In eight matches, Rajasthan lost six.
In 2024, he had a great season as a batsman with 573 runs at an average of 52.09. He was riding a great wave of success. Thereafter, he also played for India. But he disappointed in India colours. Last season in the IPL, his batting dipped too, but this season, when he is the permanent captain, it has gone from bad to worse.
If he had been a really accomplished and experienced player and had been going through a patch like this, it would have been acceptable. So many big stars like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni hadn’t had great seasons with the bat a few times, but they brought in a big body of work and that stood them in good stead, even though they were not scoring fluently. Sadly, that’s not the case with Parag, and that’s why his current form can’t be reconciled with all the more.
He doesn’t look like the same batsman either — the batsman from 2024. At that time, he was tipped to be the next Kohli. He was super fit and hit big shots at will, to all corners of the ground. This season so far, he has failed to hit big shots, and that has often led to his departure in sheer frustration.
And Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal are not always going to score runs. If they do well, then maybe Parag the batsman won’t be needed much, but since they are going to fail now and then, Parag out of form is only going to hurt them. Since the 2008 inaugural edition, which they won, they have played just one more final. And it is going to put a lot of pressure on him, which is only going to make things worse for him.
Parag can’t look to anyone in need!
Plus, he has no one to support him there. There is not a single player in the team that he can turn to in times of crisis. Rajat Patidar, who was made Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain last season in a similar theme, however, has Virat Kohli to help him in crunch moments. Last year, when RCB finally won their first-ever trophy under Patidar, Kohli’s presence was a great asset.
RR fans would hope that Parag turns around his form really quickly. IPL is a very unforgiving league. A couple of quick losses can derail a team beyond redemption. They have had a great start this season; their only defeat so far has come against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but that may change in the next couple of hours. Their score of 155 against Kolkata Knight Riders doesn’t look sufficient to get them a fifth win. If they somehow win, Parag, however, will remain a concern.