Riyan Parag continues to be impressive in IPL 2024, carrying his rich vein of form from domestic cricket to the T20 league that got underway last month. The Rajasthan Royals’ middle-order batter has scored two half-centuries in three innings and with 181 runs is the current joint-top run-getter of the season alongside Virat Kohli.
Riyan scored a 29-ball 43 against Lucknow Super Giants to kickstart his before registering his career-best performance against Delhi Capitals with an unbeaten 84 in the next game. On Monday night, he carried his form against five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians to remain unbeaten on 54 and thus notching up yet another significant score in RR’s third straight win of the season.
Shane Bond, the current RR assistant coach, has drawn comparisons between MI superstar Suryakumar Yadav and 22-year-old Riyan.
“He (Riyan) sort of reminds me a little bit of Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), who came to Mumbai a few years ago. He looks like that – he has got extreme talent. He has just matured as a cricketer, even though he is only 22,” Bond told reporters on Monday.
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Before joining RR for the current season, Bond spent nine years in MI’s backroom staff, grooming their bowlers .
“He (Riyan) has had an outstanding domestic season, obviously, batting up the order. The trade we made with Devdutt (Padikkal), bringing Avesh (Khan) in, that was to put Riyan up into a position which was probably better suited,” Bond said.
Riyan has been heavily criticised in the past for his not being able to justify the hype around his name and throwing away good starts. However, this season, he seems intent on changing the perception.
“Riyan started so young, you forget that he was 17 or something, playing in one of the toughest spots in a batting line-up of No 6. You look at the characters who finish games around the IPL, they are generally pretty experienced guys,” Bond said.
“(The) Tim Davids, (the) Dave Millers… these are high quality players who play international cricket. Riyan has been tasked with that for a number of years. He is still a very young man, but he has got this wealth of experience behind him now. We are getting the best of him. The investment that RR have made of him, it’s starting to reap the rewards. It is pretty exciting what he could offer for the rest of the season for us,” he added.
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