Is Riyan Parag playing in IND vs ZIM 1st T20I?
Team India skipper Shubman Gill announced three debutants, one of which was Riyan Parag, as the Men in Blue gear up to face Zimbabwe in the first of the five T20Is at the Harare Sports Club. Abhishek Sharma and Dhruv Jurel will also make their T20I debuts.
The 22-year-old became the first cricketer from Assam to be selected to play for Team India as it came on the back of his IPL 2024 performances. Plying his trade for the Rajasthan Royals, the right-handed batter finished as the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 573 runs in 14 matches, averaging 52.09.
The youngster also proved to be the leading run-scorer for the Royals in the season. He has a decent T20 record, featuring in 114 matches with 2616 at 33.11 alongside 22 half-centuries. The all-rounder has also bagged 41 wickets with an economy rate of 7.25.
"Going out of my comfort zone was the first step" - Riyan Parag
During a recent interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Parag revealed that he put in plenty of hard work after a mediocre IPL 2023 season with hours and hours of training under scorching conditions. He elaborated:
"Just going out of my comfort zone was the first step. I went to the Rajasthan Royals Academy immediately after the [2023] IPL. It's hot, 45 degrees or something, and I'd do three sessions a day, every day, for a month.
"It takes a lot of dedication to just go there because it's a tough place, tough conditions, but then you've just got to get your work done, right? That has to come from within. That's what helped me because I wanted to improve."
With the Men in Blue winning the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2007, the youngster will hope to be part of the title defence in 2026.