NEW DELHI: Riyan Parag is only 24 years old. The Rajasthan Royals captain has played only a few matches for India and is still on the sidelines of the national team. However, he remains one of the most trolled cricketers in the country and endures relentless scrutiny without respite in every IPL season.
“I was here when I was 17, so it means a lot to be in this position now. The journey has had a lot of ups and downs, probably more downs than ups. I feel like I’ve seen everything a teenager can go through in cricket, and I’ve been through it all. But I’m very proud of myself for getting through it,” Parag said at the pre-tournament press conference in Jaipur.
This season, the spotlight will be even harsher. Yes, he stepped in to lead the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 when Sanju Samson was injured. But now the responsibility is yours in its entirety. Parag has been handed the captaincy ahead of names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and the hugely experienced Ravindra Jadeja, a decision that has only amplified the noise around him.
“He has been through a lot. As a parent, when you see people trolling your son on all social media platforms, it is difficult to deal with it. But as a family, we have now become immune,” Parag Das, Riyan’s father, told TimesofIndia.com from Guwahati.
Inside details of how Riyan got the captaincy
Riyan Parag’s promotion comes after Samson left for CSK. Parag had led RR before. He did it last year when Samson missed eight games due to injury. Of those eight games, the Royals won only two.
The numbers aren’t impressive, but like Samson, he’s been part of the franchise’s long-term project. He also had to go through multiple interviews to convince Director of Cricket and coach Kumar Sangakkara, and owner Manoj Badale.
TimesofIndia.com can confirm that the Rajasthan Royals management shortlisted four candidates after Samson decided to leave. The names were Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja and Riyan Parag. The 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 select a captain after Sanju decided to resign, it was important for us to explore all options. We had a short list of candidates and carried out a very rigorous interview process,” Kumar Sangakkara said.
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“We went through several rounds and Riyan knows it wasn’t easy. The questions were tough. It wasn’t just one conversation, but two and then three. At the end of the day, Manoj and I sat down and went through all those discussions with each candidate. It became very clear that the right choice to lead Rajasthan Royals was Riyan, and we were very happy to make that decision.
“The most important thing is that the entire franchise, everyone involved in the process, including the team and the coaches, fully understand and support this decision. It was made because Riyan Parag is absolutely the right candidate to captain and lead the Rajasthan Royals.”
Seeking inspiration from Hardik
On Monday in Guwahati, in front of his family and friends, he will step out to lead Rajasthan Royals against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings, with Sanju Samson in the opposition ranks. Samson, fresh off his heroics in India’s T20 World Cup triumph and currently the toast of the nation, is the same man Riyan replaced as captain, adding another layer of intrigue to an already high-stakes contest.
Riyan is not the first Indian cricketer to face such intense trolling. He has had people to look up to, and his father gave him the example of Hardik Pandya, who was booed everywhere during IPL 2024 after replacing Rohit Sharma as captain of the Mumbai Indians.
“I gave the example of Hardik. Back then, I felt very bad seeing Hardik facing all the boos.
“We were leaving Guwahati airport when I spoke to him about trolling on social media. I told him that people troll you because they expect better from you. They are trolling you all over the country. The kind of start you had, you have not lived up to it and public opinion has changed. Let your bat do the talking and the same people who troll you will start supporting you,” Das recalled.
Since making his debut as a 17-year-old for Rajasthan Royals in 2019, he has had mixed performances. Batting in the lower-middle order didn’t help. In IPL 2024, he was given a regular spot at No. 4 and the results followed. He has scored close to 1000 runs in the last two seasons (573 and 393).
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That helped him earn an India call-up, but a chronic shoulder injury hampered his chances of taking part in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Now he has another chance to get back into the mix, but he knows good performances from Rajasthan Royals will be key.
“As far as coming back is concerned, my first goal is to have a great IPL season collectively as a team. All I am trying to do this year is win the IPL. I think we have a team that can do it, and that is my only goal right now. Once that is done, I can think about personal goals like returning to the Indian team,” he said.