Mature Riyan Parag ready to soar, buoyed by new-found stability

‘If it doesn’t problem you, it received’t change you,’ reads a put up on Riyan Parag’s Twitter feed.

And it’s not only a random quote. The fun-loving, cheerful 21-year-old has realised each phrase in his cricketing journey up to now, and today, when he walks out on the 22 yards, Riyan is aware of that each problem is a brand new alternative for him. He simply must again himself and overcome these hurdles, one after the other, be it for Assam within the home circuit or for Rajasthan Royals within the Indian Premier League.

Coming from a household of sportspersons – his father Parag Das is a former first-class cricketer, whereas his mom Mithoo Barooah is a world swimmer – Riyan is aware of what a cricketer goes via when the percentages are towards him. And, over the past couple of years, life has taught Riyan an important lesson – be your personal inspiration.

The teen is a music geek, an avid social media consumer and may be very explicit about his opinions and decisions on the platforms. But when on the sphere, you get to see a totally totally different Riyan, who’s aggressive in strategy and loves enjoying below strain.

Perhaps that’s why you see him firing 78 runs from simply 28 balls within the second innings of a Ranji Trophy match towards Hyderabad and setting the tone for Assam’s thrilling 18-run win. “The role definitely changes when I am playing for Assam. Here, I have to take on a lot of responsibility because I know the team needs me in certain situations. I have got to perform if I want to win games. I love that,” Riyan tells  Sportstar.

By his personal admission, he performs his ‘best cricket when there is pressure’, and his stint within the IPL has taught the younger gun the way to preserve calm and simply end off issues. “Every game has its own pressure. I am in a situation where I need to pull through. That’s what I like. I like challenges and here every game is a challenge. It’s like giving a kid a candy. I am loving it,” he says with a smile.

At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad this week, Riyan claimed 4 wickets for 48 runs, earlier than setting the stage on hearth together with his 78. Coming out to bat at No.4, he hammered eight fours and 6 sixes at a strike fee of 278.57 and reached his fifty in simply 19 balls.

That quick-fire innings bolstered Assam’s probabilities and paved the best way for its victory. In the second innings, too, Riyan claimed 4 wickets. “That’s right up my forte. I visualise these scenarios a lot. My social media and Instagram might say otherwise, that I am not that focused or that I am not a deep thinker about cricket, but my teammates know that I am a very big thinker. I visualise a lot of things and that helps me in performing in pressure situations,” he says confidently.

A member of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning staff of 2018, Riyan has been in positive contact this season. After spectacular performances within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (253 runs in seven outings) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (552 runs in 9 video games; 10 wickets), Riyan has up to now had a profitable stint within the Ranji Trophy, too.

Riyan has served a well mannered reminder of simply why he’s valued a lot by his IPL franchise and his State staff. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he stood out together with his performances proper via Assam’s marketing campaign. His consistency with the willow — a 174 towards Jammu & Kashmir in a run-chase of 351 within the quarterfinal was the spotlight — got here to the fore. He additionally surprised opponents together with his variations with the ball.

Over the years, the teen has usually been unfairly trolled on social media, however Riyan says that he has realised the way to take issues in his stride.

“It’s mostly about believing in myself. I know that’s a cliche that everyone says, but I think as a cricketer, you only evolve with as many games as you play. After playing four seasons of the IPL and quite a lot of domestic cricket, I really believe in myself and my abilities. That’s one part of having relative success in the domestic circuit…”

The second half, he says, is ‘cutting out all the outside noise’.

“I have convinced myself that no matter how good I do, people are going to judge me because I play a different brand of cricket. If I let that affect me, it hampers my game. I am playing like a free bird now. I am expressing myself, doing what I love and just showcasing my abilities to the world. What I can actually do and not impersonate someone and try to fit in,” he says.

The Guwahati boy shot to fame in 2019 after his stint with Rajasthan Royals, and thereafter each time issues haven’t gone his method, Riyan has discovered himself being trolled on social media.

He would initially suppose loads about it. But not anymore.

“Trust me, cricket in India is the easiest part, but handling all that comes with cricket is the hardest bit. That’s what I have realised,” he says.

“A lot of us get carried away with all the hype, all the media attention that comes with it. But there’s also a flip-side to it. The moment you don’t do well, there will be so many people talking against you and trying to bring you down. It kind of affects your actual belief…”

“My social media is very active, I like to express my views on topics that I like, but I don’t really go into what other people have to say. If I have an opinion, I will post about it, or tweet about it but then, it’s my opinion and I am not waiting for someone else’s opinion on the same. That has helped me a lot. I share what I want to share, what I want to say, and that’s the end of it. I then move on to the next thing….” he says.

Picking up from a tough

Riyan remembers these days in Dubai when he would stroll on the seashore in the midst of the evening, gazing on the stars. A big a part of the world was nonetheless below the COVID-induced lockdown and Riyan was within the Rajasthan Royals bio-bubble for the 2020 version of the IPL.

Things appeared tough for the teen. Far away from his household and mates, he didn’t have fairly a memorable begin to the match. Runs dried up, he was low on confidence and similar to the COVID-stuck world, Riyan, too, was in the hunt for a vaccine, albeit with the willow.

“I was nowhere. I would go to the beach and stare at the stars and the moon till about 4 am. I got dropped for a couple of matches,” he recollects these tough days.

“But I came back and played a match-winning knock against SRH. I try to recollect all those memories because your experience will mean much more than somebody else’s. If someone tells me something then that’s an example for sure, but when you have lived it and have been able to pull through, that’s when you have learned the most,” he says.

And that’s why, regardless that he attracts inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo, the late Kobe Bryant and Virat Kohli, Riyan believes life has been his trainer. “I firmly believe that even though I am 21, I have been through situations where I needed to perform when all the chips were down, and my back was against the wall. I needed to bounce back and I pulled through. You are your best motivator, inspiration, your best example in terms of how to get up when the chips are down…” he says.

Rajasthan Royals has backed him via thick and skinny, and within the 2023 version of the IPL, Riyan needs to do one thing ‘extraordinary’ to repay the franchise’s religion in him. “Rajasthan Royals has been my biggest motivator. Even though I am doing a tough job there, I am not performing as well as I would like to, they have tagged me for four seasons now, which is a very big thing for me.”

“All the experiences that I have had in the IPL, I don’t have words to describe it. Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara), Zubs (Zubin Bharucha), Sanju (Samson)  bhaiya… all of them have helped me immensely to grow over the years and I will forever be grateful for them. Hopefully, next season I do something extraordinary to repay their faith in me,” a smiling Riyan says.

While Royals has all the time supported him, Riyan’s mother and father and a detailed group of mates – none of them are cricketers – have helped him pull via the challenges.

“My parents take care of the sporting side of things; my dad gives me a lot of advice in terms of what I need to do, and my mom being an international swimmer, understands how to handle the hype and all. But at the end of the day, you need to figure things out,” Riyan avers. “You may have the best friends, but you still need to figure out what you need to do. For me, the last year has been very helpful. I know the IPL did not really go well for me, even though we qualified, I got a lot of backlash and criticism for the way I played. But then, I don’t expect people to understand the nitty-gritty of the game.”

“Rajasthan Royals understands my role in the team and how difficult a role that is. But that’s between the team and me. No one knows what goes on there and what I do or why the team is backing me. I don’t really expect people to understand that and accepting that fact has helped me a lot,” he says, including, “I know what the team needs me to do, I know what my capabilities are. If I can focus on that, other opinions don’t really matter…”

The India dream

When India received the U-19 World Cup in 2018 below the management of Prithvi Shaw, the staff’s head coach Rahul Dravid had informed the children to by no means lose focus, going ahead. It’s been nearly 5 years since that iconic title win and a few of Riyan’s then U-19 teammates have already made it to the senior males’s Indian staff.

But Riyan has needed to wait a tad longer, however he doesn’t thoughts. “I have exempted myself from the thoughts about how many of my U-19 teammates are in the Indian team already. I started playing cricket when I was six or seven years old, I got a hang of it when I was 10 or 11 and since then, the only goal has been to play for India,” he says.

“My belief is that whether it’s three months or three years, I will play for India. It’s not me hoping that I am going to make it, but it’s the belief in myself that I know I am going to make it. There’s no second doubt there. I know I am going to play for India, whether it’s now or in a few years…”

And, to show that dream right into a actuality, Riyan now needs to point out his skills and carry out wherever he can. “My performances haven’t backed my ambition and my abilities so far, so all I need to do now is perform. Let everything else take care of itself. The belief is always there that I know I will play for India and I will. Other things don’t really matter,” he says, earlier than shortly including, “Once I am there, I am not going anywhere else…”

That’s the type of confidence a teen must chase his desires. And fortunately for Riyan, that’s the type of confidence and self-belief he has to show the dream right into a actuality.