Rahul Dravid Opens up On Promoting Riyan Parag Up At No. 3 Ahead Of RR vs CSK IPL 2025 Game

Having spent his first five Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons primarily as a finisher, Riyan Parag experienced a breakthrough campaign in 2024. Elevated to No. 4 in the batting order, he emerged as Rajasthan Royals' leading run-scorer, playing a pivotal role in their journey to the playoffs. This season, Parag has been handed an even greater responsibility, moving up to No. 3 as Rajasthan Royals aim to maximize his potential. Head coach Rahul Dravid has hailed him as one of their best batters. However, his start to IPL 2025 has been modest, with scores of 4 and 25 in RR's opening two matches. Sunday's clash against Chennai Super Kings presents his final opportunity to register a significant score on his home ground, as Guwahati will host RR's last match of the season.

"That's the right word to use, that he's promoted," Dravid said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"Look, Riyan is one of our best batters, let's be honest. And we want to give him as many balls as we possibly can. Twenty overs is a very short time and the more balls Riyan Parag bats for us, the better it is for us as a team," he added.

"But of course, these things we'll keep looking at, we'll keep assessing, we'll keep seeing how it goes. And yeah, we know that Riyan has done really well at No. 4, so it gives us an option," Dravid noted.

"But honestly, the move to No. 3 was a positive move to try and give him more time to bat. And we know how destructive a player he is and if he gets more time, then he can score more runs and that can benefit the team. So that was the thinking, but we can always assess that and we can always see how it's going. And I think he's quite comfortable, he's more than capable of batting at any position," he said.

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