IPL 2026 | ‘Riyan Parag has been criticized for 7 years’: Kumar Sangakkara’s emotional defense of RR skipper

Riyan Parag (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) MUMBAI: Soon after captaining Rajasthan Royals into the IPL-2026 playoffs with a 30-run win over Mumbai Indians in a must-win match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Riyan Parag received a “pat on the back” from his team’s head coach Kumar Sangakkara. “I think I have seen very few players who have been criticized like Riyan has been criticized for about seven years now. Ever since I came into the franchise, there are always people who like Riyan, but there are a lot of people who really didn’t like him, especially on social media. But that is the reality of the modern game. When we decided to offer Riyan the captaincy, I have no doubt that he is absolutely right. said Sangakkara, backing his captain to the hilt. While his captaincy was good, Parago’s personal form – just 272 runs in 12 matches @ 24.72, at a strike rate of 152.80 – coupled with being involved in a vaping controversy for which he was fined by the BCCI – did not bode well for the 24-year-old Assam cricketer. However, Sangakkara praised Parag for leading RR “exceptionally well” and stressed that he “has the respect of all the players and staff.” “And watching him, yeah, he’s going to grow up. He’s going to mature. He’s going to understand a lot more about himself. He’s going to learn to understand his players a lot more. But even today, if you look at the calls he makes as captain, the confidence with which he does it, sometimes he almost drags himself on one leg to come play. There’s a huge amount of positives in that. I think when he’s captaining his team exceptionally well. He’s dressed exceptionally well. he’s got the respect of all the players and the staff, that’s all that’s going to happen over the next few years, I think it’s a really interesting relationship that we have to build with the franchise and Riya and really help him develop as a captain, as a batsman, as a person, and continue to support him.The RR head coach claimed that Parag was perhaps a much misunderstood guy who was a “loving, soft, gentle and smart young man.” “He’s a very, very good young man. Sometimes what you see on the outside is not Riyan Parag. Riyan Parag is a beautiful, soft-spoken, gentle, really determined, smart young man. And he’s learned a lot and matured a lot in the last few years. And he’s going to continue on that journey. But I’m very, very proud of him,” Sangakkara concluded.Sangakkara clarified that the call for England pacer Jofra Archer to continue playing in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals and miss the first home Test against New Zealand was made “in collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board”, keeping in mind the fast bowler’s bowling workload.“I don’t know for sure, but I think it was a joint decision between the ECB and Jofra when we then talked about his bowling load, especially the Test match. It’s very difficult to bowl very early when you’re only playing four games a match. So he needs time to do that and I think that’s why the ECB was kind enough to let him stay OK with the bowling and understand that he’ll be OK one day. IPL,” Sangakkara said.