Brian Lara spoke in detail about the IPL 2024 breakout star, who has had a brilliant outing in the first seven matches of the season so far
The 2024 Indian Premier League has seen some stellar individual batting performances; while a fair few of them have come from the usual suspects like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill, among other India stars, one player who is seemingly on a redemption arc in this season of the league is Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag. The RR youngster stands second in the Orange Cap list with 318 runs in seven matches and has remained key to the side’s performances as it stays at the top of the league.
Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mohali(AFP)
Parag endured a difficult time in the IPL prior to the ongoing season. He received team management’s relentless backing but had little to show for it throughout his IPL career at Royals and consequently received significant criticism from fans and former cricketers alike. Brian Lara, the former West Indian captain and batting legend, also stated that he felt Parag was “indisciplined” and had a bit of “arrogance” in him, but he has redeemed himself brilliantly in the 2024 season.
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“What I saw, and I’d say it on the national television… what I saw was an indisciplined young player, with a lot of talent. I just wondered how come they (RR) kept persisting (with him),” Lara said after he was picked Riyan Parag as his biggest impact player in the season among uncapped stars in the 2024 edition.
“He had that slight edge of arrogance – that is necessary – which is good, confidence is great. But now, it seems like he went away from last year’s IPL… and he played in different leagues in India and scored runs, and his attitude, discipline, and focus is completely different. He has the biggest impact so far, and what I see is so solid that I believe it will continue throughout 2024 IPL,” said Lara further.
Solid IPL 2024 for Parag
Parag boasts of an impressive strike rate of 161.42 in the season so far, and has smashed three half-centuries in seven innings. With 20 sixes to his name, the young batter from Assam is also the joint-second-highest six-hitter of the season, tied with West Indies’ southpaws Sunil Narine (KKR) and Nicholas Pooran (LSG).
The youngster will return to action on Monday as the Royals meet Mumbai Indians in their rematch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
