Riyan Parag: "It's always been Virat Kohli, I don't look up to any other batsman"
Riyan Parag has stated that he doesn't look up to "any other" batter except for Virat Kohli because he finds the former India captain relatable and understandable.
Parag's comments came after his rollicking 102 (68) against West Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, where a 150-run stand with Kumar Kushagra helped East recover from 157/5 to 319/7 and eventually win by 157 runs.
He now has 259 runs in the tournament at an average of 86.33, the fourth-best before the final.
"It's always been Virat Kohli," Parag told BCCI. "I don't look up to any other batsman although there are a lot of great batters in our generation. I just relate a lot to Virat Kohli and I have spoken to him, I speak with him often. He has just got a lot of input that I actually like and I can relate to that person. I like it when he says something, I understand it and he makes me understand it as well."
Parag is often seen talking to Kohli during the IPL, a tournament the 21-year-old hasn't been able to crack despite scoring heaps of runs on the domestic circuit.
This year hasn't been different in regards to domestic runs either. Before the 102 against West, he smashed 131 against North Zone to lift his team from 57/5 to 337/8 and win by 88 runs.
How Ravichandran Ashwin helped Riyan Parag's bowling
The youngster credited legendary off-spinner and his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate Ravichandran Ashwin for helping him with minute things like judging when to bowl what variation.
Riyan Parag, who already has two four-wicket hauls in the tournament, also gave some interesting insight into how Ashwin helped him improve his carrom ball.
"Even before the previous game, I was talking to him about the carrom ball..." he said. "I was telling him I wasn't getting pace, I wasn't getting the amount of turn I wanted with the carrom ball. So he suggested a few tweaks with the hand position - like the palm facing towards me releasing towards the batsman and I could see the difference instantly. Those minute details have helped me tremendously."
East Zone will play South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy final today (Thursday, August 3).