"He Understands His Game More": Kumar Sangakkara Lavishes Praise On Rajasthan Royals Batter Riyan Parag

Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals (DC), Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara said that all-rounder Riyan Parag will get an extended run at number four, pointing out how he is more mature and hungry following the rise of teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel to nationwide fame with Team India. Riyan started his IPL 2024 campaign with a 29-ball 43 (with a four and three sixes) against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in his side's campaign opener.

The youngster was promoted to number four following years of batting down the order. This knock could kickstart Riyan's breakout IPL season after being trolled for underperforming for years despite playing on largely unsuitable batting positions.

Last season, Parag scored 78 runs in seven innings. In IPL 2022, his numbers were 183 runs in 14 innings. In 2021, he made 93 runs in 10 innings. These numbers look heavily underwhelming when one also looks at his domestic cricket numbers for Assam, where he shows a more all-round side of him as a batter.

"It was a cricketing decision," Royals' director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said of Parag's promotion in the batting line-up, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. The Sri Lankan legend acknowledged how difficult it was for Parag to bat down the order and not be able to showcase what he is truly capable of.

"We looked at how he has performed over the years. It is a very difficult thing for someone like Riyan, who has an overall game, just to always only get the toughest parts of the game where he has to come in and up the run rate at the death overs."

"We all felt that he has a much more important role that he can play for us. And the hard work that he did leading up to the season, all