Deodhar Trophy: Riyan Parag says he’s trying to be mature outside cricket

In Friday’s Deodhar Trophy sport between East Zone and North Zone, Riyan Parag gave a glimpse of why Rajasthan Royals took a punt on a 17-year-old in 2019.

Walking out to bat with East at 52 for 4, Parag scored a 102-ball 131 to catapult the crew to 337. To add to his spoils, Parag picked 4 wickets as East cruised to an 88-run victory.

Deodhar Trophy: Riyan Parag’s all-round present helps East to thumping win over North

The outing added to Parag’s purple patch in List A cricket. The 21-year-old was a part of the India A crew for the not too long ago concluded ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

“I wore the Indian jersey after like five years. I last played for India at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. I got emotional the first time I wore the jersey. Representing your country is a big thing, even if it is for the India A team. It just felt surreal,” Parag instructed Sportstar.

Not many among the many rising crop of gamers have polarised opinions like Parag has executed. Over his profession, nonetheless in its nascent stage, Parag has been greeted with scrutiny and assist in equal proportions.

While his contemporaries from the Under-19 World Cup-winning India crew – Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Mavi – have performed for the senior crew, Parag stays a prospect.

In his 54 video games within the IPL (Indian Premier League), Parag has scored 600 runs at simply 16.2, prompting questions on whether or not he could make the leap. In 2023, the all-rounder was dropped from the lineup after a string of poor performances.

Players from subsequent Under-19 groups appear to be climbing the ladder sooner than Parag. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, from the 2020 batch, had been included within the squad for the Asian Games whereas Parag missed out. The Assam cricketer, nonetheless, is unfazed.

“There’s no reason for me to be angry or sad. I have learned the hard way that when you want things a lot, it never works out. So, I’m just taking it a game at a time and trying to be grateful for whatever cricket I play,” stated Parag.

Taking issues in his stride and transferring on is a lesson Parag learnt within the IPL.

“When I first came in at 17, I did not know how things worked. And now, five seasons in, I think I’m way more mature than I would have been otherwise. I’m just trying to be mature outside cricket (also) which shows in the game. Right now, I’m playing Deodhar. I had a chat with my family last night about just enjoying this. And today, I came out here and enjoyed myself,” stated Parag.

Parag hopes to construct on his current purple patch and examine one field at a time.

“After the IPL, I had an interview (where) I said I wanted to play for the India A team. This was the emerging India A team. Now, my focus is playing for the actual India A team and taking it forward step by step from there.”