Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has criticized Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag, questioning his credentials and performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Srikkanth’s remarks followed Rajasthan Royals’ first defeat of the season, a 57-run loss to SunRisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Monday that ended their three-match winning streak. SRH vs RR: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Despite Rajasthan Royals’ strong start to the season, Srikkanth expressed doubts about Parag’s leadership and ability to perform consistently in the IPL.
“He’s just there for style. As usual, he came to bat, got out early, spoke at the award ceremony and went. It’s all about style for him. He didn’t do anything else,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.
Srikkanth also criticized Parago’s captaincy decisions, especially the handling of the bowling attack. The former chairman of selectors found it puzzling that Ravindra Jadeja, the team’s most experienced bowler, did not get a single over.
“You ask him why he (Parag) didn’t bowl Ravindra Jadeja and he says, they targeted Ravi Bishnoi and there was a left-hander in the middle. Is there some rule that a left-arm spinner can’t bowl to a left-hander? It’s absurd,” Srikkanth added.
DEBUTANT PACERS ROCK RAJASTHAN
SunRisers Hyderabad’s innings suffered early setbacks, with Abhishek Sharma dismissed for a duck. However, Ishan Kishan’s 44-ball 91, backed by useful contributions from Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped set up a competitive total of 216.
Rajasthan Royals’ explosive batting, which overpowered the opposition in the first three matches, was suppressed by two debutants, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain. Praful, a medium pacer from Nagpur, took three wickets, including the wicket of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the first over, setting a new IPL record. In his second over, he dismissed Riyan Parag for a duck to reduce Rajasthan Royals to 9 for 5. Sakib Hussain continued the pressure by removing Yaashavi Jaiswal early on.
Ravindra Jadeja and Donnovan Ferreira tried to steady the innings but the early collapse proved too much. Sakib Hussain produced a strong spell in the middle overs and claimed the crucial wicket of Ferreira, who threatened on 69 off 44 balls, with a slower delivery.
Srikkanth praised the young bowling unit of SunRisers Hyderabad and praised the captaincy of Ishan Kishan. “Praful Hinge completed the match in the first over. Captain Ishan Kishan was also very good. They had four young bowlers. Rajasthan Royals fired with them. Great,” he said.
With a boost in confidence, SunRisers Hyderabad will host Chennai Super Kings in the next match of IPL 2026 on Saturday, April 18.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
14 Apr 2026 14:53 IST
