Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag (PTI Photo) Former Chennai Super Kings batsman Ambati Rayudu has come out in support of Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag, saying that the young skipper has earned the trust and respect of his teammates early on in his leadership role.Rajasthan beat Gujarat Titans by six runs in a thrilling encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 4. After posting 210/6, RR managed to restrict Gujarat to 204/8 to seal a narrow but impressive win.
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Shashank Singh on Punjab’s strong start, Priyansh’s growth and team mentality | IPL 2026 During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Rayudu highlighted how Parag has settled into the role and how the team seems to be responding positively to his leadership.“He’s doing a fantastic job and I’m sure the coaching staff gives him all the freedom. I can easily see the RR group have a lot of respect for him. It’s great to watch. When you have a young captain, the biggest challenge is to earn that respect. I can see a lot of respect for him in the team. They seem to be enjoying it, which is a great sign.”Parag takes over the captaincy ahead of IPL 2026 after Sanju Samson moves to CSK team. The 24-year-old already found himself in some leadership positions last season when he stepped in as stand-in captain during Samson’s injury phase.Former Australian captain Aaron Finch also reflected and pointed out the key factor that helped Parag step into the role. He noted that the absence of a dominant senior figure in the dressing room played in favor of the young captain.“What’s also important in that regard is when you have a young captain – there’s no shadow figure who misses the opportunity to lead the side. Often there can be resentment towards the person who got the job. He’s got a team of young superstars. He can almost take them through the next phase of their careers and create a generation of seriously good players for RR.”Under Parag’s leadership, Rajasthan have started well this season, winning both their matches so far. While his individual returns with the bat were modest – 14* off 11 against CSK and 8 against GT – he also contributed with the ball, picking up the wicket of Kumar Kushagra in the last match.With early results and strong support from former players, Parago’s captaincy has started promisingly, both in terms of results and dressing room dynamics.
