Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag during the toss. NEW DELHI: Riyan Parag is only 24 years old. The Rajasthan Royals captain has played just a handful of matches for India and still finds himself on the fringes of the national squad. Yet he remains one of the most trolled cricketers in the country and endures relentless scrutiny every IPL season without respite.“I was here when I was 17, so to be in this position now means a lot. The journey has had a lot of ups and downs, probably more downs than ups. I feel like I’ve seen everything a teenager in cricket can go through and I’ve been through it all. But I’m really proud of myself for coming through,” Parag said at a pre-tournament press conference in Jaipur.
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Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag watches West Ham vs Man City in London The spotlight will be even harsher this season. Yes, he stepped in to lead Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 when Sanju Samson got injured. But now the responsibility is fully on him. Parag was given the captaincy ahead of names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and the vastly experienced Ravindra Jadeja, a decision that only increased the buzz around him.“He has been through a lot. As a parent, when you see people trolling your child on every social media platform, it’s hard to deal with it. But as a family, we have become immune now,” Parag Das, Riyan’s father, told TimesofIndia.com from Guwahati.
Details of how Riyan got the captaincy
Riyan Parag’s promotion comes after the departure of Samson to CSK. Parag has led RR before. He did so last year when Samson missed eight games due to injury. Of those eight games, the Royals won only two.
Rajasthan Royals Captain Riyan Parag
The numbers aren’t impressive, but like Samson, he was part of the franchise’s long-term project. He also had to go through several interviews to convince director of cricket and coach Kumar Sangakkara and owner Manoj Badal.TimesofIndia.com can confirm that Rajasthan Royals management have shortlisted four candidates after Samson decided to leave. The names were Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja and Riyan Parag. All four were interviewed and after evaluating each of them, Sangakkara and Badale concluded that Parag was the right choice to lead the franchise.“When we had to pick the captain after Sanju decided to step down, it was important for us to explore all the options. We had a shortlist of candidates and conducted a very rigorous interview,” Kumar Sangakkara said.
Riyan Parag is absolutely the right candidate to captain and lead Rajasthan Royals.
Kumar Sangakkara
“We went through several rounds and Riyan knows it wasn’t easy. The questions were tough. It wasn’t just one interview, but two and then three. At the end of the day, Manoj and I sat down and went through all the discussions with each candidate. It was clear that Riyan was the right choice to lead Rajasthan Royals and we were extremely happy that we made the decision.“Most importantly, the entire franchise, everyone involved in the process, including the team and coaches, fully understand and support this decision. It was made because Riyan Parag is absolutely the right candidate to captain and lead Rajasthan Royals.”
I look to Hardik for inspiration
He will step out in front of his family and friends in Guwahati on Monday to lead Rajasthan Royals against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings, with Sanju Samson in the opposition ranks. Samson, fresh from his heroics in India’s T20 World Cup triumph and currently the toast of the nation, is just the man Riyan has replaced as captain, adding another layer of intrigue to an already high-profile competition.Riyan is not the first Indian cricketer to face such intense trolling. He had people to look up to and his father gave him the example of Hardik Pandya who was booed at various places during IPL 2024 after replacing Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain.
Riyan Parag (BCCI/IPL Photo)
“I gave him the example of Hardik. Then I felt really bad when Hardika faced all the booing.“We were coming out of the Guwahati airport when I spoke to him about trolling on social media. I told him that people are trolling you because they expect better from you. They are trolling you all over the country. You have not quite lived up to the beginnings you had and public opinion has changed. Let your bat speak and the same people who are trolling you will start supporting you,” Das.He has had mixed returns since making his debut as a 17-year-old for Rajasthan Royals in 2019. Batting in the lower middle order didn’t help. In IPL 2024, he was given a solid role at No. 4 and the results followed. He scored nearly 1,000 runs (573 and 393) in his last two seasons.
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That helped earn him a call-up to India, but a chronic shoulder injury has limited his chances of taking part in the T20 World Cup in 2026. Now he has another chance to get back into the mix, but he knows key performances for Rajasthan Royals will be key.“As for coming back, my first goal is to have a great IPL season as a team. All I’m trying to do this year is to win the IPL. I believe we have a team that can do it and that’s what I’m focusing on right now. Once I do that, I can think about personal goals like coming back to the Indian team,” he said.
