Rajasthan Royals re-sign Riyan Parag for ₹3.8 crores in IPL mega auction 2022
Rajasthan Royals have signed youngster Riyan Parag, winning a dogfight against Gujarat Titans on the first day of the IPL 2022 mega-auction. The Royals have shelled out ₹3.8 crores for the uncapped all-rounder, who debuted in the IPL in 2019.
Parag came into the limelight against the Mumbai Indians in Jaipur in 2019 when he played an invaluable cameo to drive his side to victory. His 29-ball 43 against a world-class bowling attack complimented Steve Smith's measured approach while chasing a stiff 162. As a result, the franchise retained him ahead of the IPL 2020.
V1BE check. ✅💗
#TATAIPLAuction | #RoyalsFamily https://t.co/79TBN9P3Yg
The youngster's only innings of note in the 13th season came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai, hitting 42 off 26 to pull off a heist along with Rahul Tewatia. The 20-year old struggled with the bat in the remaining games and couldn't make a difference in 2021. Nevertheless, the Royals have shown faith in him.
Riyan Parag is the first specialist all-rounder recruited by Rajasthan Royals at the mega-auction
Meanwhile, the youngster is also the first frontline all-rounder signed by the Royals in the ongoing auction. The Assam-born cricketer joined Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal.
The franchise still has 12.45 crores to shell out and will likely go for more all-rounders.
Ahead of the mega-auction, Rajasthan retained Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson. Despite winning the inaugural edition of the IPL, the Royals haven't been able to build on their success. They haven't reached the playoffs since 2018 and have finished in the bottom half of the table in the last three seasons.
Additionally, they have undergone continuous changes in captaincy and coaching staff. It will be interesting to see whether they can deliver an improved performance in the forthcoming season.