GUWAHATI: The idea of writing this article grew when my little munchkin, all of 6 years, asked me "Daddy, who is Riyan Parag?", as I was watching for the umpteenth time, the highlights of last night’s (July 27) Team India's victory over the Lankans in their backyard. It marked the beginning of the Gambhir-Surya Kumar Yadav partnership, marking a new era in India's T20I cricket, post-Rahul Dravid - Rohit Sharma's grand exit. But not diverting from "that question" here comes the answer to "Who is Riyan Parag?" Although my simple answer to my son's innocent question was describing Riyan as a good cricketer who performed admirably in India's win over the Lankan Lions, on the night of 27th July, at Pallekele.
Also Read: India’s Tour Of Sri Lanka, 2024: Assam’s Riyan Parag In Team India Squad
Riyan Parag was known in the cricketing circles of Assam as a prodigy who had loads of talent and ability seldom seen in young lads of his age. His early progress was pretty good and swift; he became the first Indian cricketer, born in the 21st century, to make a first-class debut. In 2017, he was selected for India's Under-19 squad for the two youth Tests in England. He finished as India's second-highest run-getter. Thereafter, he was named in India's squad for the 2018 U-19 World Cup. Although he suffered an injury and missed a few matches, he contributed in the latter half of the competition, where India were the eventual winners.
By the end of the same year i.e. in 2018, what would turn out to be a life-defining event, Parag got picked by an Indian Premier League team. He played for Rajasthan Royals in the 2019 IPL season, and became the youngest cricketer at 17 years and 175 days to score a fifty in the history of the Indian Premier League.
From his inaugural season of 2019 to 2022, Riyan had to face a difficult phase. It was a daunting period that would test seasoned cricketers let alone a young man, trying to find his way into top flight cricket. Facing trolls, dealing with taunts of nepotism, unable to translate promise into performances, social media abuse at every level, etc, Riyan faced unimaginable backlash; there was this infamous line that went around the cricketing circles, that exemplified his predicament ~ "Rajasthan Royals play with 10 cricketers and one Riyan Parag".
This continued for five long years, but saw a turnaround in the first class circuit of India. From being Assam's leading run scorer in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Riyan kept on blazing in the domestic tournaments by scoring tons of runs. He scored big runs in the Syed Mustaq Ali T20 tournaments of 2022 & 2023, blazed away in the Deodhar Trophy of 2023 by becoming the Player of the Series and played some epic knocks like the 174 vs J&K in the quarter-finals of 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy or the 78 off 28 balls vs Ranji giants Hyderabad in the 2023 season, etc.
Turning the tide from "Riyan who ?" To "Riyan Wow !", this little champion from Assam had a metamorphosis - from a down-and-out resource into a stellar weapon. Rajasthan Royals (RR) backed him when he was down in the dumps. From Kumar Sangakkara to Sanju Samson, Riyan got tremendous support and guidance from the RR management. His horror run in the IPL did affect his consistency but it never broke his spirit. After being told to work on certain aspects of his game, Riyan went back to the drawing board, did the hard yards and started delivering results. With a top order slot, improved fitness and zeal to succeed, Riyan turned a new leaf and IPL 2024 showed that.
RR had good reason to dispose of Riyan, but they kept backing him year after year. They saw what very few did. In a maniacally competitive franchise environment where big international stars are at times judged by just a few games, the Royals invested in a seemingly "loss-making proposition" for half a decade. And finally, in 2024, things began to happen for Riyan Parag. It was truly "a light at the end of a dark tunnel" moment.
After emerging as the third-highest run getter in the IPL 2024 season, Riyan saw his stocks rising, when he got selected for the Men in Blue and went on to become the first male cricketer from Assam and North East to play for the senior squad. It was a massive peak climbed by Riyan and kudos must go to his family and his own hard work for daring to dream of something, which nobody had done before from Assam.
Riyan's journey has not ended here; it has only begun, and how far he will go, only time will tell. But in the past few years he has shown a never-say-die attitude in the face of insurmountable challenges. His India selection is a heartening aspect to see, but important is the backing he has received from new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who clearly sees Riyan in the scheme of things as a hard-hitting middle order batsman not only capable of turning a match around with his willow, but also someone who can be a blessing with the ball. Gambhir's experience with all-rounders as a player has helped in forming this decision to promote multi-skilled players again in the team India squad. This is a long-term strategy that can help India become an even more formidable side. This idea has found a good resource in Riyan and surely if everything goes as per plan, it will lead to brilliant results.
Riyan's journey is keenly followed by the people of his home state, Assam. Although many from Assam have been critical of his failures, but every cricket loving person of Assam would want their "Riyan bhaiti" to succeed. It almost seemed well-nigh impossible, as generations of talented cricketers from Assam couldn’t break into the national cricket team owing to severe competition, inadequate training infrastructure, lack of career growth, etc. But now things are changing. A talented generation of past cricketers are grooming new talents, who are pursuing cricket with Riyan acting as a huge inspiration. A few days ago, I had met Zakaria Zuffri sir ( former Ranji skipper and an elite BCCI level 2 coach) and he was confident that Assam will see many positive developments in its cricketing journey as many things are getting better for everyone. Former cricketers like Zuffri sir, Nishanta Bordoloi (who is a strength and conditioning coach in NCA Bengaluru), etc. are actively involved in talent development with the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), also playing an active role in this cricketing revolution of Assam, by revamping the infrastructure and providing the best-in-class facilities for the cricketers.
To sum it up, who is Riyan Parag? Trust that time will reveal what he is meant to be. But in his short career, this young superstar has shown mental toughness rarely seen in today's generation of youth, and has become an inspiring story for everyone in Assam to dream big and strive hard towards achieving their dreams.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.”